Naruto: Kōkai

by Ken Miyamoto

After the failure of the Sasuke Retrieval Mission the Council of the Hidden Leaf decides to punish Naruto with banishment from the village forcing the hand of Tsunade. Now alone and no longer a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Naruto decides to take his newfound life into his own hands. Follow Naruto Uzumaki as he tries to find his place in the ninja world.

35. Chapter 35

Yo, it's Ken.

Long time no see, I'll tell you what it's been a crazy month haha. I'm sorry for the delay but things have kicked up a notch at work not to mention plenty of other fun things I had to take care of on top of that, so as an apology I have brought you guys a super long chapter to read. Also, now that those things are a little more settled, we should be able to move back into a normal upload schedule emphasis on 'Should'.

Anyway, let's get to reviews!

Alexander4443: Thanks bro! Thank you again for reading and I'll see you again in the next one!

Dragonkeeper10: Yet another good summary my friend, Fu is a part of the crew! I've been waiting for a long time to add her to the story, I just realized I say that a lot and will definitely be saying it a lot more further down the road haha. I'm planning on a lot more fun hijinks for the crew as the story progresses so look forward to that! Thank you again for reading and I'll see you again in the next one!

Samuel Santillan: The chapter here with Fu I wanted it to be a touching chapter more than anything to explore that side of character's that don't get visited often, this is definitely the start of something bigger believe that. Regarding the village thing, I want you to keep that thought in mind, but I won't say anything in spoiler territory so you'll have to stay tuned. Thank you for reading I hope to see you in the next one.

thor94: Fu has officially joined the crew and I'm looking forward to writing her as you'll see in this chapter haha. Kurama and Naruto's relationship has always been one of those things that has interested me and is something that I plan to explore in this arc for right now it looks like the Fox still underestimates our blonde main character, but things are coming down the road very soon. Thank you again for reading, I hope to see you in the next one!

Krieger Techpriest: Krieger! Fu and Tsubasa, huh? I didn't see it before but now that you mention it... Haha, I won't say anything crazy here you know that but hey you never know. Fu's character has always been focused on her bubbly side but never enough on her other side the side that most people don't see, and I wanted to explore that and continue to watch her character grow from there. Another bandit bites the dust indeed and as for the Raikage well let's just say after certain events things are becoming a little hard to ignore but hey, you'll have to read to find out. Thank you again for reading and I'll see you in the next one!

Autobot-Wolfsketch: Fu and Chomei's relationship is definitely one I wanted to write about since we really didn't get much time with them in the series, this includes their struggles and their friendship all the while meeting Naruto as someone who could accept them both while understanding them. I'm glad you were looking forward to the next chapter and here it is. Thank you again for reading and I hope to see you again in the next one!

Jagsboy: Jags! Hey there, yeah Naruto is beginning to build himself up a crew of reliable people throughout his travels in the Land of Lightning while standing aginst the Bandit King and as they get closer to him there are more adventures to come as well. I'm glad you enjoyed it, thank you again for reading and I'll see you in the next one!

huzzoptimistcally: "Thank you!" Thank you again for reading, I hope to see you in the next one.

Abash1: You and me both haha. I have more that I'll be writing when it comes to the Konoha crew and Jiraiya in this arc when it comes to their reactions about things so look forward to that because I am too. Thank you again for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!

Zipzapdoowoop: I appreciate your words as always, Fu's backstory was always one I wanted to handle in the kind of way that would allow her to have depth but wouldn't get in the way of her future character growth while also being touching. I'm glad you enjoyed that. Now about your last point, you know me and how I am about spoilers, so I won't say much but stay tuned and keep reading I have a lot planned and this arc is just getting started trust me what's coming up is going to change everything. Thank you again for reading and I hope to see you again in the next one!

That's all for reviews, as always if you have any questions, thoughts, or criticism please feel free to leave a review I read through all of them and will respond to as many as I can. A quick note about review, when I respond to reviews, I usually post only the ones from the last chapter uploaded but if left a review on the previous chapters just I know I do read them and acknowledge those so thank you all as well.

That being said this arc is continuing to push forward as the stakes begin to rise regarding Naruto and his friends against the Bandit King, things are only going to continue to ramp up from here so for now I'll leave you guys with this extra-long chapter and will be getting back to you all with the next one soon as we get closer to confrontation.

Thank you again for reading, I hope you enjoy.

-Ken

Next Time! Chapter 36: Twin Tailed Blue Flame!

{...}

Chapter 35: Enter the Hatchet Man!

The sound of a child laughing echoed while brief faint images of a green field of grass shook from the small body rushing through it.

"You're so fast, Boro!"

The sound of an excited woman's voice called while more laughing was heard as the grass continued to shake. Small feet ran faster and faster while the small boy kept laughing while running his little heart out as hard as he could.

The grass continued to shake while the boy looked up at the bright blue almost endless sky above him. Suddenly the boy was tackled, he rolled in the grass while the view of the sky went in and out while rolling. He came to a stop as he looked down, noticing fair yet frail pale arms wrapped around him while gentle yellow eyes looked into his.

"Gotcha!"

The woman exclaimed while she smothered the boy's cheek with kisses while the smaller boy giggled in her grip.

"Mom! Please!"

The small boy yelled through his laughter while the woman pulled back staring toward him, his smile wavered slightly as he heard her cough with a slight wheeze. The woman then looked up at him, her messy blonde hair was in her face while a large red mark went over her eye.

"I'm ok, Boro… did you miss me?"

The woman asked while the small boy looked her in the eyes before he opened his mouth to say something to her, but the words never came out. Yellow colored eyes opened while a young man stared toward a movie screen that currently had credits rolling on it.

He blinked at the screen a few times while he looked at one of his hatchets, it was covered in the blood of the bounty… well person dead next to his seat.

That's right.

The young man stood up stretching while he popped his neck, he looked toward the dead man before clapping his hands together.

"Thanks for the food."

The young man said as he sheathed his hatchets and began walking toward the exit leaving the corpse behind. "Wonder what I can eat with this?" The young man said scratching a name from a list before shoving his hands in his pockets, he stopped briefly as the voice echoed in his head.

"Did you miss me?"

"Always."

Boro, now an older teen, spoke while he walked out of the theater, he threw open the doors revealing the light of the morning sun. His eyes squinted at the light while he looked off to the side, his eyes landed on the ground while he walked as if being covered in blood was normal for him.

"It's the mutt."

"Looks like he killed someone again."

"The king's dog smells as bad as ever."

The voices around Boro spoke while the brown haired boy continued to walk ignoring them as he rubbed his chin.

"Maybe sushi."

Boro said simply as he continued to walk thinking about different food items with every step forward he took.

Eventually he found his way to a large castle, the building was tall and decrepit as if it hadn't been touched in years. Boro stared at it expressionless while he walked toward the building entering it, his feet stepped on the board making them creak as he walked.

"Lookie Lookie."

"The puppy's back."

Voices spoke almost simultaneously while Boro lazily looked up toward the ceiling, dark pink eyes gleamed before they dropped down around the young man.

"Smells fresh, you get a good kill in?"

"We were just getting bored without you, Boro."

They were twins, both of them had pale white hair, one had her hair tied into a ponytail and the other had her hair cut short. "You can do whatever you want later, I wanna get my money." Boro said while the girls looked at each other before they both grinned at each other widely with a crazed look in their eyes.

"Aw Boro, you really want to break our hearts like that?"

One of the twins, Dia said in a sultry voice while she reached a hand into Boro's shirt, her nails gently touching his chest.

"That's right Boro, a good dog listens to his owners. Now beg like a good boy."

Eme said while her ponytail swayed as her face got closer to the young man's neck, she chomped her teeth by his neck while he continued to look at the door expressionless. He flinched slightly as Dia's nails dug into his chest enough to cause him to bleed, while Eme tugged at his hair with her hand.

'You know what? I think I'll just settle with rice.'

Boro thought to himself while the girls giggled almost manically while he was indifferent to their actions. On the other side of the door a woman with long pale white hair sat on the ground in a meditation form while a small smile was on her face.

"Of course my lord. If it is what you wish, then your loyal servant shall make it be."

The woman said while the smile on her face grew even more as she took her hand and brushed hair behind her ear. A ring with a tiger fang on it gleamed in the light while her fingers pushed the hair.

"You are too kind my lord, for you… anything."

The woman spoke while her eyes slowly opened along with the smile on her face disappearing into a serious look.

Boro continued to be clawed into by the girl with a blank look on his face while they continued to giggle. They both froze upon hearing the sound of a door slamming open revealing the tall white-haired woman.

"Dia, Eme. Enough."

The woman spoke in a cold voice while the two girls immediately got off of Boro who just stared toward the woman.

"Sorry sis."

The twins spoke at the same time while she only spared them a glance, "Bounty's dead. I'm here to get paid." Boro said while the white-haired woman glared at him.

"It's unfortunate that you were summoned to perform the orders of our lord, Mutt. I would have been a far better fit to enact his will."

The woman spoke with an almost whimsical look on her face while the twins looked toward each other.

"Ugh. I hate it when big sis gets like this."

"Her crush has made her crazy."

The girls spoke while they giggled at each other before they flinched at another sharp glare from the taller woman.

"I have no such crush, I'm merely a pebble on the side of the road that our lord is paving. To merely be within his presence is enough for me to think I could be anything more is… asinine."

The woman spoke while she stroked her thumb over her ghost of a smile.

"Don't care. Pay me."

Boro spoke while the woman's eye twitched, the twins quickly backed away while the white-haired woman grabbed the young man by the neck. "If it weren't for the fact that you have a function for our lord, I'd gladly crush your throat until the light fades from your eyes and you cease to function." The woman said while she held her grip around Boro's neck, he just gave her a look while one of her nails tapped against his neck.

"You'll get your scraps, but not until you complete your new job."

The woman said while Boro raised an eyebrow, "I just did a job. I already told you I killed him." The young man said while pink glared into yellow.

"Not that nobody, the ninja that's been a thorn in our lord's side recently. The Blue-Eyed Demon."

The woman spoke while Boro blinked at her, "That Naruto guy? That's a whole other job, what makes him worth skipping out on my pay?" The young man asked while the sharp nail cut into his neck slightly.

"Three of us are dead, hunted down and killed. Naruto and that boy with the flames are hunting after those closest to the lord, they will kill them all until they reach the lord. Anything or anyone that comes for the lord's life is worth far more than any of your scraps, Dog."

The woman explained while her grip got a little tighter as Boro's neck began to bleed.

"Best to not bite the hand that feeds you, your miserable existence is only due to the mercy and kindness of your lord. Remember that."

The woman said letting Boro go as the young man took a deep breath, "...So, you want me to kill him? Bring his head?" The young man asked while the woman shook her head.

"The bounty says dead or alive, I want you to bring him to me. I'll personally skin him alive in front of our lord as tribute to his grace, do that and you'll get your scraps."

The woman said while Boro looked toward the ground while the twins bounded toward their sister bouncing on their heels.

"Sis! Sis! Can we play with the demon?!"

"We won't cut him up too much! Please!"

The twins bounced around their older sister while the woman looked toward the pair before sighing heavily.

"Do as you wish, but his life is mine."

The woman said while Dia and Eme cheered loudly circling the older girl, Boro meanwhile rubbed his neck before he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So, bring him back alive, right?"

Boro asked while the three sisters looked toward him, "Exactly, make it quick. Our lord doesn't like to wait." The woman said while her sisters hugged her with smiles on their faces.

Boro walked away while the sound of the twins' laughter echoed behind him while the taller woman closed her eyes.

"Soon my lord… soon."

The woman spoke while the brown-haired young man threw the doors open back to the bright outside world. His eyes squinted from the light as he began to walk away from the castle, his stomach growled while he paused for a moment.

"Gotta go hungry a little longer…"

Boro said to himself while he looked at the ground again as his fingers went to his chin as he stroked it.

"Maybe a beef bowl..."

{...}

Tayuya sat up with squinted eyes and small sticks in her wild hair while she yawned before groaning as Tsubasa gave her a look.

"Good morning."

The teen said simply while the girl rubbed her eyes, "Jeez, I hate sleeping outside…. And what the hell is all that racket?" The girl said while Tsubasa calmly walked over to the girl.

The sound of claps and stomping was heard while the gray-haired teen began to pick the sticks out of her reddish hair. "It's those two." Tsubasa said, pouting while Tayuya's eyes opened, staring toward the racket before her jaw nearly dropped at the sight.

"One! Two!"

"Three! Four!"

"Keep it up! Feel the rhythm!"

"Right!"

Naruto yelled while Fu smoothly moved her body dancing as she used her wings to create the sound of music. Naruto meanwhile was doing his best to keep up with the girl's dance moves with sloppy renditions of them as he did his best to keep up with the energetic girl.

"Good, Naruto! Chomei, sound off!"

Fu yelled while a smaller version of the tailed beast flew beside the pair while clapping together its claws, "One! Two! Three! Four!" The small Chomei called while Fu and Naruto kept dancing.

"Move those hips more!"

"Got it!"

Naruto answered after Fu while he attempted to move his body to match her rhythm, still doing his best to keep up as they laughed together.

"You think I could join in?"

Tsubasa asked seriously while Tayuya's eyes twitched, "What the hell are you idiots doing?!" The girl yelled while Fu turned her head toward the sleepy girl.

"Yuya! You're awake! Good morning! Hey hey, now that you're awake and stuff you could play us a song on your flute!"

Fu spoke excitedly while Tayuya stared at her before a shoe flew at the girl hitting the tanned teen right in her forehead ending the music. "You trying to alert everything in the surrounding area?!" Tayuya yelled while Naruto fell to the ground panting as the tiny Chomei disappeared into smoke.

"Sorry Tayuya, we were training."

The blonde said while Tayuya tilted her head, "What part of any of that was training?" The girl said while Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I'm sure you noticed it, but it turns out Fu's chakra cloak is something she almost had full control over. It's to the point that she can materialize her tails as physical wings instead of just chakra like when I use the fox's chakra."

Naruto said while Fu hopped back to her feet while her wings sprouted from her back, "Yeah, so I was thinking maybe Naruto could do the same! So, I was training him to see if we can get him some more control of his cloak." Fu exclaimed while Tayuya was about to open her mouth, but she closed it again.

She imagined Naruto with fox ears on his head and a puffy fox tail, her visage of the boy had his classic fox-like grin on his face.

"I see."

Tsubasa spoke, causing Tayuya to snap out of her thoughts, quickly throwing her other shoe at Naruto as a reflex, hitting the boy square in the forehead.

"See what?!"

"Oi what was that for?"

"Hey, she got you too huh? What an arm."

"I know right?"

Tayuya's ears flushed red slightly while Naruto and Fu laughed with each other over the shoes that had hit them.

Tsubasa was about to crack a smile, but he stopped mid-way through beginning to, he watched as the conversation between the other three continued muted to him.

Tayuya was somewhat reformed and hasn't been a ninja in a long time while she was crass, she was also caring. Fu, sweet even when she was hurt and ready to bear any burden for the people, she cared about who just wanted to be accepted. Naruto, the infamous ninja with the strength of a demon but a heart of gold capable of understanding others.

When they kill, either they had to, they couldn't, or they could choose to decide when they deemed it necessary.

When he killed someone, it was just out of rage.

For revenge.

They saw him as someone they could trust and bring along with them but was, he really able to be like them? His hands are covered in blood out of hatred, and they are all just trying to be free.

Could he laugh with them?

Could he smile with them?

No…

Because…

Right now, death is all Tsubasa knew.

"Hold it!"

Tayuya's yell snapped Tsubasa out of his thoughts while he looked over toward the commotion that was going on by the trio.

"Hey Tayuya relax, you're scaring the guy."

Naruto spoke while his blue eyes looked toward the newcomer, it was a man in a dark fancy kimono with his hair tied into a traditional style under a black straw hat who was staring toward the red head with fear.

"Are you… Are you the ones who are opposing the Bandit King? The Renegades?"

The man asked while Fu pointed at the man on the ground excitedly, "Huh? Like rebels? Guys! They're totally calling us rebels!" The green haired girl practically bounced while Tayuya shot her a look.

"How is that a good thing?!"

"Hmmm… Renegades huh? Sounds better than dream crew."

"Shithead!"

"What? It does."

Naruto responded while Tsubasa walked toward the trio joining them while the man in the black straw hat bowed in front of them.

"My name is Boushi, I'm the leader of Radis Village. It's a large settlement up ahead… I humbly bow before you and must ask a favor."

The man spoke while Tayuya narrowed her eyes at him, "This fucker sounds suspicious, we should get rid of him." The girl said while Naruto shook his head.

"What kind of favor?"

Naruto asked while Boushi looked up toward the blonde with watery eyes, "Blue Eyed Demon, we need your help. Radis Village, since that man arrived, had been under his influence. Those bastards just take whatever they want and kill whoever they want." The well-dressed man explained while Tayuya huffed.

"The Bandit King huh? Yeah, we oppose that guy. We heard he was pretty bad news."

Naruto said while Boushi nodded his head, "They deal in people, kidnapping them and selling them off to the highest bidders. They even took my own daughter recently… it's a miracle she returned. Regardless they're still here and they continue to do what they want to us." The man continued to explain while the blonde clenched his hand into a fist.

"Dealing in people?"

Naruto asked while Tayuya gave him a look, "Naruto, easy. Look, we need more info before we jump into anything." The girl said while the blonde relaxed a little.

"You said they deal in people, what does that mean?"

Fu asked while Boushi looked toward her, "It's awful, his people… they take people and sell them off based on their chakra types or bloodlines with Hiden techniques or Kekkei Genkai to sell them off to ninja villages. For war. Or he even keeps them." The man explained while the green haired girl's eyes widened.

"Your favor, it's about killing them. Where are they?"

Tsubasa asked with a growl in his voice while Tayuya shot him a look, "Cool it, Edgelord. We aren't just jumping into any kind of arrangement without some deal." The girl said while Naruto gave her a look before he unclenched his fist.

"Please, I beg of you. I'd give anything. Anything you want, just please… end their reign. Free this land from any more death."

Boushi begged while Tsubasa looked toward the bowing man while Naruto walked forward with his hand extended.

"You said anything, right? Then we have a deal."

Naruto said while Boushi looked up toward him, "Shithead, we can't just take a blank check without even knowing what exactly this guy is asking us to do." The reddish haired girl said while the blonde looked toward her.

"These people need help. This guy is begging us to help him, that's all the deal I need for now. Revenge and freeing the land from this bastard's reign. I'm sure we can handle two birds with one stone, right?"

Naruto said while Fu smiled as she jumped in the air punching it, "Yeah! Let's kick some ass and save the day!" The girl yelled excitedly while Tayuya rolled her eyes.

"Damn it, Shithead. Ugh fine."

The girl reluctantly agreed while Tsubasa looked toward the group, turning his head to the side before a hand landed on his shoulder. "What do you say, Tsubasa? Wanna add a few good deeds to our bad one?" The blonde asked while Tsubasa looked back toward him then toward Fu who was smiling at him along with Tayuya who only looked mildly annoyed.

He was never the type to be the hero.

It never crossed his mind.

But…

The visage of Naruto standing in front of his executioner's block entered his mind before he nodded his head. "Right." Tsubasa said while Naruto grinned and Boushi's eyes began to tear up again.

He could be more.

"You heard us, looks like you've got yourself the Renegades to take care of your bastard king problem."

Naruto said while Boushi bowed hard enough to hit his head on the ground, "Thank you!" The man yelled while Tayuya tapped on her wheelchair arm.

"So, what exactly do you want us to do exactly? Unless you've got directions to the fucker's front door this deal doesn't really accomplish anything."

Tayuya said while Boushi looked up, "Right, you are correct as we currently don't have his known location… what I do have is perhaps a lead to take you closer to finding him." The man said while Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of lead?"

The blonde asked while the man stood up, "The Bandit King has many structures he's spread out through the smaller villages with Radis being the largest of the smaller ones. They remain interconnected in a way that keeps his whereabouts spread thin." Boushi explained while Fu rubbed her chin.

"Ooh a classic case of attempting to track the bad guy down."

Fu said while Tayuya huffed, "Great, the one fucking guy we're looking for and he's slippery. That doesn't tell us anything, Asshat." The girl said while the well-dressed man nodded.

"Right… but the one thing that remains consistent are his people. They all have compounds within the places they take over, they act as places where they watch over their territories as well as where the Bandit King does his dealings."

Boushi explained while Fu snapped her fingers, "That makes sense! A place like that was where I found that sketchy pervy monk guy!" the girl said while Naruto rubbed his chin.

"So, we find these compounds, we find his people with the fang accessories, and when we find those people with the fang accessories…"

Naruto explained while Tsubasa clenched a fist, "They lead us right to him." The teen spoke while Boushi nodded his head.

"Unfortunately, the Hoseki no Shimai. They are well hidden, choosing to come into the town for their dealings instead of leading us to them."

Boushi said while Tayuya ran her hand over her face, "Sisters? Like multiple? And they're good at keeping their trail cold? A pain in the ass is what they sound like." The girl said while Boushi stuck his finger up.

"There is one lead… They have with them a hound. A bounty hunter by the name of Boro the dog, he comes to the city often to pick off anyone who even dare speak of their lord out of his name. You find him, you'll find those monsters."

Boushi said while Naruto rubbed his chin before he smiled looking toward the man as if an idea came to his head.

"That good… that means we won't have to find him at all."

Naruto said while Boushi tilted his head, "What does that mean?" The man said while the blonde pulled out a poster with his face on it.

"We're wanted. So, we won't have to find him. He'll come find us."

Naruto said while Tsubasa raised an eyebrow while Tayuya sighed, "So you're using yourself as bait? Classic Shithead." The girl said while Fu patted her on the back.

"He won't be alone; he'll have me and 'Basa!"

Fu said quickly, wrapping her arm around the taller boy pulling his head next to her wide smile, "...That's right, we're in this together. I won't let anything happen to either Naruto or Fu." The gray-haired teen spoke while Tayuya gave them a look before she looked at Naruto's back.

"...I believe you. Don't make me regret that."

Tayuya said gently while Fu jumped in the air pumping a fist while Tsubasa nodded his head with a serious look on his face. "Well, you heard the crew. We'll find this Boro guy and take down those sisters!" Naruto said while Fu dashed to his side posing as coolly as she could while Tsubasa tried to mimic the girl though poorly on the blonde's other side.

"Thank you… thank you so much!"

Boushi said, taking his hat off while Tayuya looked over at him, "Remember our deal, this shit ain't for free." The girl said while the man rapidly nodded.

"Of course!"

The man yelled while he stood back to his feet after bowing again, "We are in your debt." Boushi spoke while Naruto pointed toward him. "You should get back ahead of us; we'll follow behind you to enter the village to keep the heat off of you. Hopefully that rings the dinner bell for this guy." Naruto said while Boushi quickly bowed again before he walked quickly back toward the village leaving the group behind.

"Looks like we've got ourselves another mission to knock out guys."

Naruto said while Fu grinned, "This is so cool!" The girl exclaimed excitedly while Tsubasa looked at his fist.

"I'm guessing you have a plan?"

"Nope! Just a good feeling."

"Heh… of course, Naruto."

Tsubasa said while Fu stuck her hand in the middle, "Come on, Renegades on three." The green haired girl said while Naruto grinned back, placing his hand on top of hers.

"On three."

Naruto said while Tsubasa looked between the two before he obliged, placing his hand on top of theirs.

"On three."

Tsubasa spoke while Tayuya rolled her eyes, "We're wanted criminals being hunted down by killers nearly constantly and you want to cheer? How stupid." The pinkette said while the blue eyes and orange eyes stared toward her.

Tayuya tried to avoid the puppy dog-like gazes of the duo while Tsubasa just stared at her normally, "Ugh, damn you all." The girl said wheeling toward the group reluctantly putting her hand over their hands.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

"Renegades!"

The group sans Tayuya cheered as Tsubasa looked at the rest of the teens, Fu laughed along with Naruto while Tayuya tried and failed to fight off her own little smile.

Maybe somehow, someway. He could be just like them too.

"Alright, Renegades!"

Naruto cheered while Tsubasa tugged at his sleeve, rolling it up while Fu smiled before she posed again eagerly.

"Let's do this!"

{...}

"Ma."

The voice of a small boy protested while he winced at the alcohol being dabbed on his face, the bright woman with the mark over her eye continued to dab silently.

"Ma… Those kids they-"

"It doesn't matter what they said, Boro."

The woman spoke while the boy sat in her lap as the breeze swayed the grass, "They were calling us poor and that we were just pieces of trash… They talked about you too. They were so mean." The boy spoke while the mother gently bandaged his cheek.

"Did you hit them back?"

"...No."

"...Why not?"

The woman said while she flexed an arm giving her frail bicep a slap, "If it were me, I would've given those kids a good whooping." The woman said with a grin on her face while Boro shook his head.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone, you said violence was bad. I don't want to be violent if you think it's bad, Ma."

Boro said while his mother stared at him for a moment before she hugged him tightly, "Violence can be bad, Boro. There's nothing wrong with fighting to protect yourself or the people you can about. I'd always fight for you." His mother spoke while he looked at her with teary eyes.

"Would that really be ok?"

Boro said while his mother smiled, "My sweet boy, I hereby give you permission to fight but only if you need to. Any other reason is hereby banned. Promise me." The woman said while she stuck out her pinky.

Boro looked at her pinky before he reached his pinky toward hers wrapping it around her larger one, "I… I promise." The boy said while his mother kissed his brown hair.

"Good, so next time you see those kids. Give them a good beating. A little good Ole fashioned revenge can be sweet y'know."

The woman said while Boro blinked before a mischievous grin grew on her face as her fingers began to tickle him. Boro laughed along with his mother who continued to tickle her son, the woman kept laughing before she coughed.

Her laughter became heavy coughing while Boro's eyes shot open staring toward her, "Ma? Ma?!" Boro raised his voice while his mother covered her mouth with her hand as her coughing fit stopped.

"Boro, it's ok. Look Mommy's ok."

The woman said while she moved her hand that was now covered in blood, Boro sniffled while the woman gently ran her hand through his hair.

"Mommy's ok, Boro."

The woman spoke with a big smile covered in blood while the boy sniffled again hugging her tightly. The sound of a light chuckle came out of her mouth as she embraced her young son.

"Find yourself a cute wife too, Boro. Someone who can be there for you… even when I can't be. So, you can be happy. Huh? Revenge and a love story… that sounds like a movie, doesn't it? It'd make your mommy really happy if you had a happy ending."

Boro continued to hug his mother who was continuing to speak while he noticed a man in the distance quickly approaching them with a look of concern all over his face.

"It's all going to be ok, Boro."

…

The sounds of the bustling village streets rushed past the trio as Naruto, Fu, and Tsubasa walked through the village.

"Woah this place is massive! It's almost as big as a hidden village!"

Fu spoke while Tsubasa looked around, "If the sisters have this much territory, that means they are an even bigger threat than I originally thought." The gray-haired teen spoke while the blonde sighed.

"That also means we've got a lot of ground to cover in order to get to a place this guy can find us."

Naruto said while Fu rubbed her chin, "Yeah, but the good news is I have wings! I'll just scout above and-" the girl was cut off by a hand gently rubbing her hair. "I appreciate it, Fu. But we need to keep you safe. While we're here for this bounty hunter who knows who else is here. The lower profile the better." Naruto said with a smile while Fu stared at him for a second before she nodded her head closing her eyes while he gently rubbed her hair.

"That still leaves covering ground as our main issue, this guy could be anywhere."

Tsubasa said while Naruto squinted his eyes before he snapped his fingers.

"Got it! We'll split up."

Naruto said while Tsubasa and Fu gave him a look, "Split up? Are you sure that's a good idea?" The teen asked while Fu nodded her head.

"Yeah, don't forget you're a target too. Just like you wanna protect us, we wanna protect you."

Fu spoke while Naruto smiled at the other teens before he reached into his pouch digging through it until he found what he was looking for.

"I just thought of something, what if this guy has already found us? If we are in a big group then he won't want to come out, so if we split up one of us can find him and alert each other."

Naruto said while he pulled out two kunai that had red and blue wrappings on them, handing them to the other teens.

"We'll use these, if anything happens then these will give the signal to converge."

Naruto said while Tsubasa looked at the kunai, "Naruto. This is risky. We have no idea what to expect from this guy. What if he's too much for one of us to handle on our own?"

The smoky haired teen asked while Naruto pointed toward him, "Then we'll lead him to each other. Let's try to avoid fighting if we can if possible." The blonde said while Fu gave him a look.

"I mean, I trust your judgment and stuff but 'Basa is right. What if we can't avoid fighting long enough to get to each other?"

Fu asked while Naruto lifted his finger, "Then, hold your ground for as long as possible, like I said these kunai will act as the signal. If anything happens, we'll know and we'll be there." The blonde spoke while the girl sighed.

"Now, I'm starting to get why Tayuya sighs so much."

"You and me both."

Tsubasa and Fu looked at each other while Naruto chuckled at the pair.

"Let's try to stay as near each other as possible, but in the meantime take your time getting to explore the place. I've got the feeling we'll be seeing this place a lot."

Naruto said with a smile while Tsubasa gave the boy a slightly concerned look while Fu wrapped her arm around Tsubasa's.

"You got it, Captain!"

Fu exclaimed while Tsubasa was about to protest but the girl quickly began to drag him away from the blonde.

"Naruto-"

"Tsubasa… We got this."

Naruto said while Tsubasa gave him a look while Fu continued to drag the boy along with her as they got further away.

"We gotta trust him. I sure do."

Fu said while Tsubasa gave the shorter girl a look before he turned his head away from the blonde who turned around walking into the crowd.

"Naruto's so cool… he's mature but at the same time he's super fun and caring."

Fu spoke while Tsubasa walked along with her, "Yeah… he is. I just can't help but feel a little off about this. The amount of territory, this bounty hunter, and those sisters… this could be a trap." The teen explained while Fu smiled.

"Yeah, but we're the worst things to ever be put into a trap. So, we'll get through it and save the day. That's what we do."

Fu said while Tsubasa looked to the side, "Save the day, huh? Is that what we do?" The teen asked while Fu gave him a look.

"Well duh, we're the good guys. As long as the land is in trouble then we'll win and save everyone, with getting your revenge as the cherry on top."

Fu said with a wink while Tsubasa looked down, "Can I really call myself a good guy? I originally had no intention of helping people, all my heart knew was revenge. If others benefitted from that it was an accident. My only purpose is to kill… hardly someone to call good." The teen explained while Fu gave him a curious look.

"Do you like it? Killing?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you kill people, do you enjoy it?'

"Well, no but-"

"Then it's settled."

Fu quickly answered while she kept her arm wrapped around his, "I'm no expert of killing people or even the reasoning behind it. The fact doesn't change that I've killed people too. I want to think I'm just some monster or a demon, but you guys showed me that it wasn't all I was. A monster would enjoy killing and right now that's neither me or you." Fu explained while Tsubasa looked toward the girl.

"I want to believe what he said… I want to be able to be just like Naruto and what he sees me as… what all of my friends see me as. And when I look at you, 'Basa. I don't see a monster."

Fu said while Tsubasa inspected the girl's features not detecting even a hint of a lie from her, "Then what do you see?" The teen asked while Fu turned toward her gently placing a hand on his face.

"Someone who has one hell of a good smile… Hopefully you can show it to me one day."

Fu spoke while Tsubasa's eyes widened at her response as she smiled gently at him, this girl despite everything just like Naruto didn't just see a murderer.

They saw more.

The same kind of more he wanted to be, the more that he could potentially already be becoming.

Tsubasa had the ghost of a smile that quickly faded as Fu's hands began running over his chest, "Uh… Fu. What are you doing?" The teen asked while Fu tapped her chin.

"Yeah, pretty tall and skinny. It may be a little hard but I'm sure we can do it."

Fu said with a smile while Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, "Do what?" The teen asked as Fu relieved her arm around his.

"Shop for some new clothes of course! The whole dark and brooding ninja outfit works but you're going to need more than that for future adventures!"

The girl exclaimed while she began dragging him again, "What? Fu, we can't, we have to look for this guy." The teen tried to fight back against the girl who kept dragging him.

"Technically we're bait, we aren't super good bait if we look like we're looking for him. So why not act distracted right?"

The girl responded with a bright smile while Tsubasa attempted to come up with some kind of argument but failed under the bright gaze of Fu who he allowed to continue to drag him along.

A ghost of a smile on his face.

Meanwhile on the other side of the village, Naruto walked through the crowds of villagers as he navigated his way through the streets. While Tsubasa and Fu were his extra pair of eyes, his strategy was detecting this guy before he could get the drop on him.

By sensing his chakra.

However, the blonde currently had a couple of issues with this technique he's recently discovered over the past weeks.

First, he could sense chakra, but he could sense all kinds of chakra meaning whether it was a small source or a large one he could sense it meaning it was hard to distinguish specific types.

Secondly, he still has to actively use his eyes to truly get a lock on chakra so even if he did get near who he was looking for he wouldn't know who it was until he could get direct eye contact.

Third, while he's more experienced now he still doesn't know who to properly sense chakra actively. It's mostly passive when he focuses hard enough.

His solution?

He already noted the differences between Fu and Tsubasa's chakras against the chakra of the civilians he's seen so far. While most civilians had smaller and less distinguishable wavelengths, Fu's were actively a green color and Tsubasa's an orange.

So, if this guy was a ninja or even someone who used their chakra enough that should mean rather than the size, he could detect a color to help him distinguish.

Unless another ninja actively using chakra was around then this bounty hunter should be someone he could detect rather easily by his new criteria. The blonde's blue eyes flicked around the passing civilians while he looked around for any colors that stuck out to him.

"Jeez, I knew this guy was a bounty hunter, but he hides pretty well. He may be smarter than I thought."

Naruto said to himself while he continued to walk through the streets until he got to an area where the crowd began to die down. The amount of chakra signatures decreased while Naruto was able to focus better on his surroundings.

"Now if I were a bounty hunter trying to lead someone into a trap, this is definitely the place to do it."

Naruto said to himself while he passed by buildings looking around with every step he took until he stopped. He felt a larger chakra signature close by him causing him to quickly turn his head toward an alley.

"...A long walk on the beach."

A decrepit looking young man said while sitting on top of brown sacks of rice staring at the wall before tapping a hatchet on his lap. "A picnic by the lake… a nice big spread of food… sandwiches. Fancy sandwiches." Boro spoke while Naruto raised an eyebrow toward the young bounty hunter while clenching his hand into a fist.

"Looks like I spoke a little soon, so you must be Boro the-"

Naruto barely had time to speak as he quickly reacted to a kick that he barely managed to block, "Candle lit dinner…" Boro muttered while the blonde quickly made distance between himself and the young man.

"So, you here to ask me on a date or kill me? Either way, I'm not interested pal."

Naruto spoke while Boro, who had a dazed look in his eyes, slowly blinked while his face scrunched up, "What, you? Hell no. Only pretty girls and food are allowed at my dates." Boro said while he held up his hatchets.

"And you're paying."

Boro said while Naruto narrowed his eyes at the young man while his yellow eyes narrowed back at the blonde.

"Look, I just want to know where to find your-"

Naruto was cut off by Boro who dashed forward slashing toward the blonde with his hatchets in hand.

Naruto leaned backward while Boro threw a kick that flew over the blonde while the teen quickly spun kicking toward the bounty hunter.

Boro caught Naruto's leg holding onto it while he tried to bring down his hatchet on it, the blonde quickly spun kicking his other foot across the bounty hunter's face. Boro staggered while Naruto landed back on his feet dashing toward him, the brown-haired young man quickly regained his composure. Naruto and Boro quickly clashed in close combat; the bounty hunter avoided Naruto's punches while the blonde avoided the swings of the hatchets.

Boro quickly swung toward a blind spot, but Naruto caught his wrist bending it slamming his fist into the side of Boro's rib cage twice before punching him in the face.

"You ever going to let me finish my sentence?"

"You ever stop talking?"

Boro responded, kneeing Naruto in the gut before stopping his foot to the ground hard enough for it to crack underneath before kicking the blonde into a building.

Naruto crashed through the wall before rolling to his feet, a small family sitting at the table looked toward the boy before the little girl screamed. The blonde turned toward a shattering window that Boro had jumped through, the brown-haired boy swiped at Naruto again before kicking him into the table.

"Go!"

Naruto yelled while the family quickly stood up from the table running as the blonde leaned on top of it avoiding a slash.

"This is somebody's house, you idiot!"

Naruto yelled while Boro slammed his hatchets down on top toward the blonde stabbing them into the table as the blonde avoided them. "Who the hell are you calling an idiot, prey? All you had to do was come with me and these nice people wouldn't have had to worry. Now look at us." Boro said while he tried to tug his hatchets out of the table, Naruto quickly grabbed a chair spinning before slamming it against the bounty hunter.

"So, it's my fault now?"

Naruto asked while he hit Boro with another chair smashing it against him, "Did you just hit me with a chair?!" The bounty hunter raised his voice while he pulled his hatchets free using them to slash apart another flying chair.

"You kicked me through a wall!"

Naruto yelled while Boro rolled over the table kicking him into the kitchen, the blonde's back hit the stove while the bounty descended on him with his blades. Naruto acted fast, blocking the axes with a pan before he countered slamming the pan across the young man's face. Naruto then disarmed Boro of his hatchets before spin kicking him into the pantry, the bounty hunter quickly pulled himself out before glaring toward the blonde.

They engaged in close combat again in the kitchen with Naruto using the pan to deflect Boro's punches and kicks. Boro growled avoiding a swing of the pan before hitting Naruto with a heavy punch that sent him through a wall.

The boy's back hit the stairwell where he saw the little girl from before sitting at the top of the stairs watching.

"Run!"

Naruto said while he quickly lifted the pan blocking the knife that was thrown, "There's a kid!" Naruto yelled while the bounty hunter threw another knife.

"You started it! I'm finishing it! Besides, it wouldn't hit the kid if you just took it like a man!"

Boro yelled while throwing another knife at the blonde who deflected it while huffing, he then threw the pan at Boro who blocked it.

"You got a really crappy outlook on life, pal! It might be time for a reality check!"

Naruto jumped through the hole spinning in a tight spiral before kicking Boro against the wall, he then punched him across the face, throwing him toward the table. Boro's back hit the table as he rolled on the floor roughly, the bounty hunter quickly got back up looking toward the table before he kicked it at Naruto.

Naruto caught the table with his foot before he kicked it back toward Boro, the table stood up as the bounty hunter kicked it back again. The blonde caught the standing table with his foot before he took a breath kicking the table back with a wind enhanced kick.

The table flew pinning Boro against the wall as the legs stabbed into the wall securing the bounty hunter against it. Boro growled while he slammed against the table until it was pushed out from the wall, releasing himself from it.

"Ha! You really though that table would-"

Boro was cut off by Naruto flying toward him, kicking him through the wall into the city streets with a few bounces.

"Yeah, payback's a b-"

The blonde was cut off by Boro tackling him into the busy streets of the village, the pair of teens rolled while villagers quickly moved out of the way of their path. Naruto quickly got back to his feet while Boro was already swinging at him with his hatchets that the blonde quickly avoided.

Boro spun swinging his hatchets toward the blonde violently while Naruto continued to avoid and parried whatever blows he could while avoiding those he couldn't while the brown-haired boy tossed one of his hatchets into the air.

Naruto's eyes widened while he noticed Boro was beginning to form hand signs, the blonde quickly snatched one of his hands holding it in his own while he narrowed his eyes at the young man.

"There's people all around us! You really want to start forming jutsu?!"

Naruto yelled while Boro locked his fingers with the blonde's, "I thought I already established that I didn't care. You are coming with me, prey." his yellow eyes gleamed while the blonde gritted his teeth.

Boro tried to pull his hand back from Naruto's, hand but he felt the grip from the blonde's hand tighten, "If that's how we want to do things, then fine. Don't say I didn't try though." the blonde spoke while he started forming hand signs using Boro's hand.

"What the hell? You can do that?!"

Boro yelled while he tried to stop Naruto's hand sign weaving with his own while he swung toward the blonde with his hatchet, the blue-eyed teen dodged the blade while continuing to form hand signs with Boro's hand meanwhile the brown-haired young man started forming hand signs of his own using the blonde's hand.

The pair clashed and fought over control of the hand signs while attacking each other at the same time trying to slow down the other.

Boro locked in a few more hand signs at the same time as Naruto while they swung toward each other again, wind chakra built up with earth chakra built up as well. Right when Boro's other hatchet was falling toward them the chakra between glowed brightly before exploding.

Boro was launched backward into a fountain while Naruto was blasted backward bouncing on the ground before he flew through the doors of a bar. The brown-haired young man quickly stood to his feet looking toward the dust cloud they kicked up and dashed through it toward the bar.

The doors swung open while a bunch of faces looked toward the boy, they were all sitting as if nothing had happened while the bartender continued to clean glasses. Boro looked around while he huffed, popping his neck as he took a step.

"You really think I'm some idiot that doesn't know what's going on? Using people to hide yourself and I'm the bad guy? Typical ninja. Look, just step out and make this easy for me. I already told you, these people… I don't care what happens to them."

Boro said while the villagers continued to sit carefully eyeing the yellow eyed boy who glared toward the bar lifting his hatchet.

"If you're going to threaten a good time… then you're going to have one."

Boro said throwing his hatchet toward the bar, it bounced off of a platter landing behind the bar hard enough to stab through it. The sound of footsteps ran toward him causing the yellow eyed young man to turn toward the sound.

Boro avoided a punch from Naruto slashing through him with a hatchet, the blonde suddenly turned into smoke while the brown-haired young man looked toward his other side as another clone kicked toward him. Boro quickly slashed through the clone that turned into more smoke.

"You really want to screw around like-"

Boro was cut off by a bottle of wine flying toward him, the young man then slashed toward the bottle as it shattered into pieces sending wine splashing toward him. "It's a distraction!" Boro turned around behind himself, slashing.

However, his attack only cut through air causing his eyes to widen, "Hide among people? Nah? That wasn't what I was doing at all." Naruto said while Boro's head whipped back toward the wine flying toward him, the indent of a fist began to push through it.

"I wanted you right here. So, I could give you a good swing, right where it hurts!"

Naruto yelled while his fist punched a hole into the wine before slamming across Boro's face hard enough to make the young man's eyes roll to the back of his head as he flew out of the bar's ceiling. The blonde apologized to the villagers in the bar while Boro flew through the air.

Boro then landed smashing into a rooftop top with a cough, the brown-haired young man panted while he stared toward the sky, "What the hell was that punch?" the young man said to himself while he heard the sound of feet landing.

"You're pretty tough."

Naruto said while Boro quickly got back to his feet aiming his weapon toward the blonde, "Pretty tough? You just knocked me through a ceiling, and you want to compliment me? The hell is wrong with you?" Boro asked while he watched his other hatchet land in front of him.

"Here. Now, we can continue fighting or we can chat. First by telling me where those sisters you are working for are located."

Naruto said while Boro glared toward him before quickly snatching his other hatchet, "Oh yeah, you bring me back my hatchet and compliment me and suddenly think I'm going to cooperate? Your brain must have gotten scrambled somewhere down the line." the brown-haired young man growled while the blonde just blinked.

"Look, you're just doing your job. The people you work for are the real problem, so instead of mindlessly fighting, why not just allow me to help."

Naruto spoke while Boro huffed, "Help? Help with what? You gonna swoop down on the sisters and save the day like an action hero? You don't really think it's that simple, do you?" Boro said while Naruto tapped his chin before nodding.

"That's pretty much the plan."

Naruto said while Boro gave the blonde a flabbergasted expression, "What the hell? You… You're an idiot, aren't you? Just a massive moron. A braindead idiot. It's ok you can admit it now." the brown-haired young man said while the blonde sighed.

"These people, while I know you don't care about them and that there's a reason, you're doing all of this, you and I both know that the people you work for and the Bandit King or bad news and need to be taken care of or it'll continue to negatively affect everyone. You included."

Naruto said while Boro rolled his eyes, "I don't think you understand what exactly it is that you're getting into, Demon guy. Take some advice, quit now, come with me and I can at least guarantee a death better than the life this hero shit takes you on. Not to mention I get paid that way so win-win I guess." the brown-haired young man said while the blonde looked toward him.

"Is that all life is about? Money? Making it to the next day, meaninglessly? Without hope?"

Naruto said while Boro narrowed his eyes at him, "Why does everyone keep saying that? You know, I met a few hero types like you while doing this job and they always say the same thing. Hope, living, dreams. I just find it hilarious how they can just ignore reality and preach nonsense. You'll be just like the rest of them, I'll bury you with the rest of those hero types and get to tomorrow like nothing happened." the young man explained while Naruto clenched his fist.

"You have a really crappy attitude, just give me a moment. I'll shatter that perception for ya with my own two hands."

Naruto said while Boro glared, "You're going to need more than a moment, dumb-" the brown-haired young man was cut off by the sound of his stomach growling causing the pair to stare toward each other quietly.

"Are you… Are you hungry?"

Naruto said while he pointed toward Boro who shook his head, "Shut up and lose already!" the young man yelled, attacking the blonde again. Naruto avoided the slashes while the young man pushed harder trying harder to attack the blonde.

The blonde quickly moved through the slashes, throwing a hard punch cracking it across Boro's face, the young man staggered while he grounded himself. Boro growled while he attacked Naruto again with his hatchets, he could tell the blonde was moving faster and more smoothly while he was growing sluggish.

He had plenty of adrenaline running through him but since he had the moment of being out of combat, his fatigue and hunger were beginning to catch up to him. All the while Naruto was energized and more than ready to continue their war.

Boro's hatchets nearly flew out of his hand as a kick slammed against them, the young man staggered again while Naruto just walked toward him. "So that's how it is huh? You get an inch, and you take a mile? Don't think for two seconds this means I'm out of this fight!" Boro yelled while the blonde just sidestepped.

Boro fell past him before he felt a palm press against his chest, he turned his yellow eyes to look at Naruto's face breaking into a sweat as he made eye contact with a gleaming blue color.

Suddenly he felt his body blasting through the air as Naruto pushed him with a wind, he saw the blonde moving away from him in slow motion for a moment before crashing into the ground bouncing through an alley roughly. Boro coughed while the sound of feet landing in front of him caused his eyes to widen, there Naruto stood looking down toward the young man.

Boro's had a lot of marks that he's gotten into fights with, they all came from all sorts of backgrounds. Assassins, low ranking political leaders, and even ninja. However, none of them felt like Naruto did. The guy seemed like an idiot but the moment he got serious it almost felt like the atmosphere changed around him and became heavier.

Like he only just now started to take him seriously.

Naruto took a few steps toward him while Boro backed up, dragging himself backward away from the blonde who continued to slowly approach him. He did his best to muster whatever strength he could so he could at least defend himself from the blonde.

Boro flinched as Naruto was almost directly in front of him, the visage of his mother smiling toward him entered his mind as he lifted his hatchets toward the blonde.

An attack never came, however.

Instead, Naruto turned to a sliding door, opening it up with his hand, "For two please." the blonde spoke while Boro just stared toward him.

"Come on."

Naruto said while Boro looked at the teen with disbelief before he looked at the building, it was a hole in the wall diner. Boro continued to look at the building in disbelief as Naruto tugged him to his feet pulling him into the restaurant. Boro's brain was fried while he was sitting next to Naruto who was calmly looking at the menu of food items as if they weren't just fighting literal moments again.

"Oh, they have Gyoza here! Even better, they have ramen!"

Naruto exclaimed while he looked toward the owner who was in the back walking toward them, "Hey there! We'll take two orders of Gyoza and two bowls of ramen, miso please." the blonde ordered while the owner nodded his head and went toward the back.

"What… What the hell is happening?"

Boro said while he was basically not functioning at the sheer amount of confusion he was feeling while Naruto rubbed his hands together.

"Man, it's been so long since I had ramen! Though I wonder why they call it ramyum on this menu? Must be a land of lightning thing"

Naruto shrugged while the brown-haired young man continued to stare toward the blonde, "You're screwing with me." Boro said while the blonde set the menu down on the bartop.

"You said you were hungry, I built up a little appetite while we were fighting so we're eating. No screwing around here."

Naruto said while Boro raised an eyebrow before the sound of plates being set down in front of them caught his attention, golden brown gyoza sat on the plates as the blonde wasted no time taking a gyoza off of his plate and sticking it into his mouth.

"Oh, that's good."

Naruto said while he continued to eat from his plate, Boro looked at the plate suspiciously as he watched the blonde eating nonchalantly. "What's your angle? Feeding me so I bend to your will easier? To bribe me?" Boro said while the blonde huffed.

"Shut up and eat already. No angles, so don't let good food get cold please?"

The blonde said while he continued to eat, Boro had an expression filled with disbelief on his face, his eyes looking toward the food as the thoughts of the sisters came to his mind. However, with the growl of his stomach the young man caved and began eating as well.

He hadn't had a meal like this in a while.

Normally, he would do a job. Get paid after dealing with the sisters and grab something to eat. To just make it and do it again tomorrow but sitting here eating food with another person.

He imagined his old kitchen table in his childhood home, with his mother excitedly telling some story while his father cooked for them peacefully.

It was something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"...Do you eat soy sauce?"

Boro spoke after chewing down his gyoza while the blonde blinked at him mid chew, "Yeah, I do." Naruto responded while the brown-haired young man pointed at the small bowl.

"Your gyoza, if you dip them in here then they'll taste better."

Boro said trying not to make eye contact as Naruto took the young man's suggestion, dipping his gyoza before eating it, "Whoa, that is pretty good!" the blonde spoke while the brown-haired young man exhaled out of his nose.

"You're so noisy when you eat."

"Just being expressive, compliments to the meal. What you got a problem?"

Naruto said, sticking another gyoza in his mouth while the young man shook his head, "Nah, just a little nostalgic." the brown-haired young man responded while the owner came out with their ramen in hand placing it in front of them.

"Finally!"

Naruto said digging his chopsticks into the bowl and digging into the noodles, savoring them as he took a bite, "You let your guard down so easily… for a ninja who wanted for such a high price you sure don't act like one. Especially with someone who's after your head." Boro said while the blonde wiped his face.

"I've got a way of sensing things with people, if I'm relaxed then that means you aren't someone who I think of as some evil threat."

Naruto said while Boro huffed digging his chopsticks into his own noodles, "Bold claim. You don't know the things I've done. Hell, if I wasn't hungry back there then I'd already be dragging you back to get my funds." the young man said while the blonde chuckled.

"Oh yeah? Then eat plenty. That way when you lose you won't be able to have any excuses, maybe then you'll cooperate more."

Naruto spoke before digging into his noodles, "You seriously trying to stand against the Bandit King? You're suicidal if you think you'll be any different than anyone else who tried." Boro said, staring into his bowl while the blonde grinned.

"Taking down bad guys who forcefully conquer lands is kinda my thing at this point, I don't want to sound cocky or anything but anyone who hides behind others like this isn't really someone who rings out as tough to me."

Naruto said while Boro huffed, "The sisters alone are a force to be reckoned with, by comparison the Bandit King dwarfs them. Not to mention his growing influence over the land. You'll be dead before you could say this was a mistake." the brown-haired young man said while the blonde swallowed more noodles.

"Gee, for a bounty hunter it almost sounds like you like the guy despite the fact he's a piece of crap."

Naruto said while Boro shrugged, "I don't have to like the guy. He puts food on my plate. That's all I need." the bounty hunter spoke, leaving the blonde to stare toward him.

"You hear yourself, right? That guy, just him being around, is preventing so many people from living. It sounds like he's preventing you from living too, forcing you to be a bounty hunter to do his dirty work."

Naruto said while Boro stopped eating for a moment huffing, "You don't get it at all, that's nowhere near the truth." the young man said while the blonde continued to stare at him.

"Then why work for him? Why be a bounty hunter?"

Naruto said while Boro's expression fell for a moment as he stared at his one reflection in the soup of his ramen, "Because killing is the only thing, I'm good at." the young man said quickly, drinking down his soup to erase his reflection from his sight.

Naruto said nothing as he also drank down his soup finishing the meal between them, Boro dug in his pockets for any sort of money to pay for the meal, but another hand already placed money on the counter to pay for their meals.

"It's on me."

Naruto said while Boro looked at him for a moment as he looked toward the exit, "...Thanks." the young man said while he walked toward the exit back out to the alley with the blonde following him closely.

"You know, it's a shame that all you can think of yourself is being some murderer. I don't really know your circumstances and I don't approve of your actions, but you don't seem like the kind of guy that's just a killer for money."

Naruto said while both boys stood outside of the diner with Boro narrowing his eyes toward the blonde, "Yeah? Well, all that tells me is that you don't know shit about the real world, you definitely don't know shit about me." the brown-haired young man said while Naruto nodded.

"You're right, but who says you know shit about you either? Reducing your life to just a job isn't a fate anyone in this world should have. Are you really just a killer, Boro? Or are you just afraid to accept that, that's not all you are?"

The blonde spoke while Boro's eyes widened looking toward the blonde, he was speechless as he looked into the warm blue eyes of the teen in front of him. He was steadfast and looked so tall despite being a little shorter than him.

"Maybe after I find these sisters and beat them. After I find the Bandit King and knock him off of his throne, perhaps you can find different stuff to do with your life. Find a way to enjoy it."

Naruto said while Boro gritted his teeth, "You still sound so damn confident. You could die. In this world you could die in an instant and be forgotten. This world isn't the kind of place for good men, the only place they can belong is underneath the ground. You really think that you could be different than any other heroic fool that ended up dead?" the young man said while he stared at Naruto's back.

The air went still between the pair while Boro carefully watched the blonde for his reaction, however his yellow eyes widened as the blonde turned around with a confident look on his face.

"Watch me… then you can thank me later."

Naruto responded with a genuine smile growing wider on his face as Boro looked at his expression with shock, this guy was unshakeable. His will was ridiculous, all for what? Just to make the world a better place? Did he really believe in this place that much? In these people?

In him?

"You could be a good guy, Boro. You never know."

Naruto said before the visage of his mother smiling at him in the field of grass, they were sitting in entered his mind before that memory quickly shifted into an open doorway with his mother weakly smiling at him from it.

"Oh Boro…"

Boro looked toward the ground as Naruto looked at him for another moment before he sighed, turning around while stretching, "So, now that you've eaten. I guess I'm back to my investigation. Maybe if you're feeling really thankful you could just tell me where I could find those sisters-" the blonde's words died in his mouth as the sound of metal hitting the back of his head filled the air.

Naruto fell to the ground roughly while Boro stood over him with the back of his hatchet brandished, the brown-haired young man then lifted the blonde from the ground throwing him over his shoulder before staring at the end of the alley.

"You're a good guy, Naruto… but that's exactly what's going to be the end of you. You trust too easily. Me, a good person? That's not the truth, not even a little bit. I'm just a bounty hunter…"

Boro said while he walked toward the light at the end of the alley with his bounty in tow over his shoulder popping his neck as he took every step forward toward his exit.

"And you're just another payment."

Boro said while he carried Naruto away, the blonde peeked one of his blue eyes open before he closed it, continuing to pretend he was unconscious while the bounty hunter took him to exactly where he wanted to go. He was an idiot, but he wasn't stupid.

Naruto had a word to keep.

{...}

"Where is he?!"

Tayuya raised her voice while Tsubasa looked off to the side, "Yuya, we went toward the commotion that was going on but by the time we got there they were gone." Fu said while the reddish haired girl growled.

"I knew this was a stupid idea! Now he's in the clutches of a damn bounty hunter that took him to who knows where!"

Tayuya yelled while Fu flinched at her words, she was about to speak again but Tsubasa took a step forward, "Enough, it was my fault. Naruto… he was taken because of me. Because I wasn't fast enough or alert enough. Don't blame Fu." the gray-haired teen said while Tayuya narrowed her eyes at him.

"I don't blame Fu. I blame both of you and I blame him even more than that. He gets a few wins under his belt and all the sudden he's gotten cocky enough to try out stupid plans! He should have… He needed to!"

The girl fumed while Tsubasa watched her, Tsubasa had observed them during his time with them. Naruto and Tayuya had a bond, one filled with care. While they disagreed, it was always because of one person caring for the other and how decisions would affect them.

He could already tell Tayuya was beating herself up just as much as he was beating himself up by allowing Naruto to be captured by the enemy.

While they couldn't do anything about it.

It probably made her feel as useless as he did.

"Look, it's alright. Rather than just mulling over the fact that it happened, we should be on top of finding him and bringing him back!"

Fu said, slamming her fist into her hand while Tayuya huffed, "Yeah? With what clues, genius? As far as we know they could be halfway across the damn country by now." the girl growled while Fu scratched the back of her head in response.

Tsubasa stared at the ground while Tayuya and Fu continued to talk to each other, almost arguing about the whole Naruto situation, his thoughts were running wild while the sound of their arguing grew louder in his ears.

It kept getting louder and louder while he tried to come up with some kind of thought, the guilt he was feeling began to grow as a fist clenched to his side.

What would you do?

How would you do it, Naruto?

How could I be like you? So, we can find you?

"Tsubasa… We got this."

Naruto said while Tsubasa looked up away from the ground, right now Naruto wasn't here. So how could he even attempt to think like him if he wasn't here to say what he would do. If Naruto couldn't tell him what he would do, then…

What would he do?

What would Tsubasa do?

The gray-haired teen turned toward Tayuya and Fu who continued to go back and forth while he imagined Naruto smiling and talking the situation down instilling a confidence in them even when times seemed uncertain.

"I would save him… No matter what."

Tsubasa said as he narrowed his eyes toward the arguing girls, "I'm just saying maybe if we-" Fu spoke but was cut off as Tayuya groaned, "Like that would work? We're acting off of nothing and that will lead us to nothing. That still leaves Shithead out there kidnapped. We should just-" Tayuya was cut off by a foot stomping teh ground.

"That's enough."

Tsubasa said while the girls looked toward him, "Tayuya, you're scared. That's why you talk like that, why you're so quick so bark pessimistically about the situation despite the fact that you care. Fu, you're guilty. You thought that if we did what we could that things would work out and we'd get this guy, but it didn't… I get it. I get you both because I feel it too." the teen said while they looked toward him.

"I should have done more, been faster. Been stronger. Right there at his side because that's what he would do for me… for all of us. But I wasn't and he's gone. That's what I should think, that's what I should feel but thinking that and feeling that would go against everything we want to accomplish."

Tsubasa said while Tayuya looked away while Fu looked him in his fiery eyes, "He would do something for us that right now we can't even do for him. How in the hell are we supposed to save him if we can't even trust him?" the teen spoke while he pulled the kunai from his bag that had the red wrapping on it.

"I want to save Naruto and so do you guys. But more importantly, I want to trust him. I want to trust him and save him using that trust. Because he's, my friend. We can't let this set back stop that from being true. That's not how we win."

Tsubasa said while Tayuya looked toward him, "Then how in the hell do we win?" the girl asked while the gray-haired teen saw the visage of Naruto smiling at them again.

"Together… That's how we're going to get him back."

Tsubasa said while Tayuya's eyes widened while Fu's smile grew on her face, "That's what I'm talking about!" the girl exclaimed while Tsubasa clenched the kunai in his hand.

"Tayuya, use the map to scout for any areas of interest nearby Radis village. Fu, we'll use your wings to create a perimeter based on the areas of interest and narrow those options down until we can locate Naruto and when we find him. We'll take care of those sisters, that bounty hunter, and bring him back."

Tsubasa explained while Tayuya looked at the normally quiet boy with disbelief while Fu cheered, already sprouting her wings, "Then let's all work together to bring Naruto back!" the girl cheered as Tsubasa nodded.

"Well said."

A voice spoke causing the trio of teens to look around before the kunai in Tsubasa's hand puffed into a cloud of smoke revealing the blonde-haired boy with a red sash tied around his arm, "Shithead!" Tayuya yelled while Fu pointed at him.

"Naruto-"

Tsubasa was cut off as another puff of smoke appeared revealing another version of the blonde-haired boy with a blue sash tied around his arm. Fu looked at the kunai she had with the blue wrapping had disappeared as the clone leaned on the other clone with a grin.

"It looks like the boss ended up going with plan B."

"Yeah, that guy was stubborn, he wouldn't say a thing no matter how much he pushed him for answers."

The clones spoke while Tayuya smacked her forehead, "Leaving behind clones, that sounds about right. Damn it, Shithead." the girl said while one of the clones rubbed her hair,

"Daw, miss the boss that much?"

"Don't worry, from what it looks like he's already made it to their hideout. They've got him locked up at the moment."

The blue clone said while Tayuya growled at the red clone rubbing her hair, "Are you two able to lead us to him?" the gray-haired teen asked while the blue clone nodded his head.

"Of course, we were made to guide the rest of you guys to him in case something went off plan. We're only temporary, meaning all we can do is guide you."

"Good news is, the boss isn't super far. He ain't exactly close either."

The clones spoke while Fu clenched a fist, "Alright! Then time's a wastin, let's go get our friend back!" Fu spoke while Tsubasa nodded his head.

"Then you both will take point and we'll rescue him."

Tsubasa said while Tayuya looked toward the ground, "Make sure to bring him back in one piece." the girl said while the gray-haired teen gave her a look.

"That's your job, Tayuya."

Tsubasa spoke while the reddish haired girl looked up toward him, "Huh? The hell are you talking about? I'm not in any condition to save anyone. I'll slow you guys down." Tayuya spoke while Tsubasa stuck his hand out toward the girl.

"We are all his friends. We all care about him. That includes you, I know you feel like you can't contribute the most but with the current plan you'll have to. The person that'll have to reach Naruto will be you, don't sweat the details we'll give you then opening you need."

Tsubasa explained as Tayuya gave the teen a look of surprise while the red clone wiped at his eyes, "Gah, I'm not even the real version and seeing this brings a tear to my eye." the clone spoke while the blue clone slapped him on the back of his head.

"Come on, we can't screw around too much. These guys are raring to go."

The blue clone spoke while the red clone looked at the determined looks on all of their faces before he nodded his head, "Then let's lead their way." The red clone spoke while Tayuya looked toward Tsubasa.

"You have the plan."

The girl spoke while Fu punched a fist into the air, "We've got the guts!" the girl cheered while Tsubasa looked toward both of them as he nodded his head.

"We've got the spirit."

The teen responded as Tayuya looked toward the grinning clones then back to Fu and Tsubasa as she clenched a fist, "Then…" Tayuya trailed off pointing ahead before they all glared into the distance.

"Let's get him back, Renegades."

{...}

"Ma… Dad?"

The sound of a young Boro's voice echoed in the silent house as he continued to walk into his childhood home, it was eerie how quiet it was. Normally it was filled with the jovial chatter of his sickly mother and the quiet caring presence of his father.

Yet he couldn't feel either of those things.

It only felt still, it felt like something was off. That something wasn't right.

Boro continued to explore the house until he began to hear the telltale sounds of voices speaking to each other coming from his parent's room, Boro's yellow eyes widened at the sound of the voices beginning to raise in volume as the sound of shuffling was heard.

The young boy ran as hard as his feet would take him as the voices grew louder and louder before his hands were about to touch the door, suddenly everything went quiet all except for the small voice of his mother.

"Don't let him see…"

His mother spoke as Boro's eyes shot open, "Ma!" the young boy screamed as he threw the door open. His heart immediately dropped at the sight in front of him. A sickening feeling spread across his body like wildfire as his eyes settled on the scene.

"Oh, Boro…"

His mother spoke as blood oozed from her chest as Boro's father stood over her with his hand on the handle of the blade, Boro watched the blood ooze onto the ground as his eyes made contact with her fading ones all the while his father had a look of horror on his face.

Boro's mother weakly lifted a hand in an attempt to stop the boy from taking another step further toward her as she lay dying in the arms of her husband.

"You'll be… you'll be good. I promise…"

Boro's mother spoke while he watched her hand drop to the floor, the young boy continued to stare at the floor at his mother's still hand. His father was trying to speak to him, to say something to him but his words were muted and never reached him.

Instead, his mother's dead eyes burned into his vision as flashes of different moments where she smiled and laughed with him went through his head as he saw red.

"Hrk… er.."

Boro sobbed and growled while his father stood up taking the blade out of his wife, "Boro…" His father spoke before the young boy lifted his head with his yellow eyes gleaming violently.

Boro screamed as he dashed toward his father, his small feet carried him as he lunged toward his dad. He collided into the man slamming his back into the wall, the blade dropped to the floor while the young boy reached toward it.

"Boro!"

His father yelled while the young boy roared, turning the blade into the older man's body, Boro held the blade in place while his father coughed up blood. Boro kept pushing while his father reached toward his head, the young boy growled not making eye contact until a hand gently touched his hair.

Boro quickly looked up toward the man with fury in his eyes expecting to see some kind of monster staring at him, instead he only saw the kind eyes of his father.

"I'm sorry, Boro… Forgive us."

The man said while he collapsed to his knees meeting the young boy who now had blood on his face at eye level, his larger yellow eyes looking into his son's smaller ones. That kindness never left them as he hit the ground on top of his wife.

Boro stared at his dead father and mother as the blade in his hands still dripped with their blood on it, he blinked while holding onto the blade as he remembered his mother's words. He had taken his revenge…

But…

"That didn't taste sweet at all…"

The young boy still in shock spoke while he walked out of the room in a shocked state outside where he collapsed his back laying against the wall of his house as the sky began to rain, Boro just let the rain drops fall on him as he stared off into space.

Why?

What had happened?

He lost everything; they were gone. He killed his father; he watched his mother die. Why?

Boro continued to question himself in his head while the rain came down harder and harder around him, eventually the sound of footsteps landed right in front of him.

"Oh? The brat's come to greet us huh?"

The deeper voice spoke while he watched a young teenage girl look into the house, "It smells like blood." the girl said while the man looked into the house.

"Looks like the runt here, beat us to the punch… Hm, that's unfortunate. Losing income like this…. I wonder how you'll pay us back."

The man said while Boro lifted his head staring into the cold dark gold eyes of the man staring back at him, the blade still clenched firmly in his hands. It felt like he was staring into golden voids of nothing as the man cracked an amused smile.

"Those eyes of yours, those look like the eyes of a proper dog. No, a mutt. A little pup, who's taken his first blood."

The man spoke while the girl who had white hair walked over to his side, "Shall we end him too, my lord?" the girl asked while the man looked toward Boro.

"You hear that, mutt? Rubi here wants to end your life; she doesn't see the value in it. I do. So, do you want to die?"

The man asked while Boro had a glazed look in his eyes as he looked back toward the man crouched in front of him, "All… I can do… All I've done… Is kill things." The young boy spoke as the man smiled again.

"Then you'll continue to kill things… but you'll do it for me now. If you have no purpose, I'll give you one. You'll kill until you die, that's why you live, Pup."

The man spoke as he stuck a handout toward him Boro, the young boy stared at the hand before he saw the flashes of his family both alive and happy and dead and cold. "I'll kill… until I die." the boy said while the man took his smaller hand into his.

"I'll make a proper beast out of you yet, Pup. You'll grow up to be a good dog."

The man spoke while Boro allowed himself to be taken away from his home, the young Rubi gave the boy a disgusted look while Boro's yellow eyes were still glazed over. The young boy took one last look into his house realizing the door was still open.

To a sight he'll never come to unsee.

…

"Good work, Mutt."

Rubi, now older, said to Boro who barely made eye contact with the woman while she placed money into his hands, "Our lord will want to see him for himself. As much as I'd like to carve him apart right now… Maybe I should." the woman said while the brown-haired young man said nothing.

"This guy is some kind of demon? He's younger than I thought."

"Yeah yeah, I was expecting some kind of monster. He looks goofy more than anything."

The twins Dia and Eme said while they looked over Naruto in his cage as he looked back toward them calmly, his fingers were bound with sealing wrapping preventing him from weaving any chakra to form jutsu. "Girls, that's enough. If you want to play with anything, the mutt is right there. Our prisoner remains untouched." the older sister spoke while the twins puffed up their cheeks.

"That's not fair, we play with Boro all the time. He's boring, this demon guy looks like he's way more fun."

"I wonder if he would scream if we cut into him? Boro always just takes it; he never makes it fun."

The twins spoke as Rubi shot them a glare, while Boro looked away from them. "We done here? I wanna grab something to eat." the young man said while Rubi shook her head.

"The demon here escaped the last prison he was put into, I'm nothing like that failure of an executioner was. You'll stay here while we prepare for our lord's arrival… Hopefully he enjoys what we've brought him."

Rubi said twirling some of her hair on her finger while Dia looked at Eme who gagged a little earning a glare from their older sister. "You'll watch over him as well as the rest of the merchandise. Make sure he stays put." the white-haired woman said while Boro groaned.

"Do I get to charge extra?"

"Every breath you take is extra, Mutt. Don't forget your place."

Rubi quickly responded, glaring her sharp pink eyes into his while the young man sighed looking away from her gaze, "That's what I thought… if he manages to escape then you'll have hell to pay. Anything that displeases our lord is unacceptable and unforgivable." the woman said while the twins waved at him.

"See you in a bit, Demon."

"Bye for now, Dog,"

The twins spoke as they followed their sister out of the room with the cells, Boro turned away from them as he looked at the multiple cells that had been filled with people they had collected from the village as well as Naruto who continued to sit in his cage.

"You really let them call you a dog like that?"

Naruto asked while Boro shot him a glare, "That's the last thing I want to hear from an idiot who got himself captured, some demon or hero you are. I told you; your heroics would be your downfall." the young man said while the blonde rubbed his chin.

"Downfall… not quite. This is still just a cage after all, I could still break out of here and take all these people with me."

Naruto said while Boro harshly chuckled, "You still believe you have a chance? How much of an idiot do you have to be? It's over, Naruto. No plans, no schemes, no ninja shit. No one's coming to save you and you aren't saving the day." the young man said as the blonde huffed.

"What did they do to you? To break you apart like this?"

Naruto asked while Boro gritted his teeth, "They didn't do anything, I've been a mutt for a long time. Long enough to see enough of you preachy bastards get turned into fertilizer." the young man said before the blonde nodded his head.

"You must have lost a lot to be here like this… To just accept this life like this."

Naruto said as Boro huffed, "Everyone loses something in their lives, crying and moaning over that loss doesn't change anything. Trying to fight against that doesn't fix anything either. There's no point struggling over stuff that's already done." The young man said as Naruto looked at his back.

"It's not about struggling… It's not about fighting… it's about facing it. Facing yourself and accepting who you are. You're burying yourself, Boro. Trying to hide behind your mask."

Naruto said while Boro glared his yellow eyes at him, "You think you know me so damn well huh? What would you know about some mask? What the hell did you lose that made you wise enough to know the entire world and everyone in it? The one who's afraid here is you, afraid that I'm not like you. That I'm not redeemable or a good person." Boro said while he grabbed on to the bars to glare Naruto in the eyes.

"You can't save me… Just like no one is coming to save you. You and I are both going to die alone in this world. No matter how good or bad we are, that's our fates. We can't change."

Boro spoke while the blonde in the cage looked back at him silently as he took a breath before exhaling outward.

"What? Got some more sage shit to say?"

"No… you told two lies and one truth."

Naruto said as he stood to his feet keeping his blue eyes locked into Boro's yellow ones at the brown-haired young man took a step back.

"Your truth is you're right. I can't save you; I don't plan on it either. I can extend my hand, but I can't ask you to take it. You have to do the hard part and save yourself, all I can do is be there."

Naruto explained as he took a step closer to the bars while Boro took a step back, "Be there? What the hell can you do behind bars?" The young man spoke, trying to hold his ground.

"Your first lie, while you think you need to be good or redeemed I don't. You don't have to be anybody, but you and you know that. You're the one who's fighting to refuse that."

Naruto said calmly taking another step forward while Boro growled taking another step back, "Shut up! You don't know a damn thing!" The bounty hunter barked as the blonde stood directly in front of his cell bars.

"Your second lie was no one is coming to save me…you're technically right."

Naruto said while a slow growing grin spread across his face while Boro's eyes widened in surprise.

"Cause, they're already here."

Naruto spoke as the sound of an explosion outside caught the bounty hunter's attention, "What? What did you-" Boro's words died in his mouth as the blonde sat down confidently looking Boro in the eyes.

"Don't you worry about me, Boro. I'll be there for you real soon… and these bars are the least of my worries."

Naruto said while Boro gritted his teeth looking toward the exit before his eyes landed back on Naruto's confident look.

"Damn it!"

Boro yelled while he ran toward the exit outside, where he was met with chaos. Flames and explosions entered his vision as the castle was being attacked.

"Defend the merchandise, you damn mutt!"

Boro's eyes flicked toward Rubi as a kick slammed into her side from a green haired girl with a smile on her face.

Another explosion went off in front of him launching two figures toward him, Boro lifted his arm to cover his face. The twins Dia and Eme flew past him, their backs slammed against the wall of the building behind him. Boro looked at them with surprise before he slowly turned his head back toward the flames dancing in front of him, noticing a silhouette walking toward him.

The flames illuminated the features of the figure walking toward him, his smoky gray hair and eyes that looked like fire that glared toward him.

"You…"

Tsubasa spoke while Boro immediately got into a defensive stance staring the other teen down as the flames continued to follow him.

"Give him back."

Tsubasa growled while Boro gritted his teeth glaring back toward the fire covered teen in front of him.

Naruto sat in his cell while the commotion outside continued, he closed his eyes and took a breath before sighing.

"You probably got something to say huh?"

Naruto asked with a slight smile on his face as his blue eyes made contact with brown ones, "I do… You're a fucking idiot." Tayuya spoke while she was in the arms of his clone with the red sash on his arm.

"Yo boss!"

The clone exclaimed while Naruto chuckled, "Look, we gotta get you out of here. You wouldn't happen to know where they stashed the keys would ya?" Tayuya asked while the blonde sweatdropped.

"Uh about that… They actually used seals to lock up these cages. And my fingers."

Naruto spoke while Tayuya's eye twitched, "Huh… So how the fuck am I supposed to get you out!?" The girl screamed while the blonde grinned.

"I never thought I'd say this but, it's kinda refreshing hearing you yell about stuff. Guess prison changes a guy huh?"

Naruto joked while Tayuya looked away from the blonde, "Shut up, this is the second time in a week. Now I need to find a way to…" Tayuya went silent while the blonde blinked.

"Yuya? What happened?"

Naruto asked as the girl smacked her own forehead, "Right… I got so used to being useless." Tayuya said as she reached into her pouch.

"I never thought you were useless even once, Tayuya. You're always so harsh to yourself."

Naruto spoke while the girl shot him a glare, "Shut up." The reddish haired girl then pulled out her flute. It had been a while for her and she was certainly rusty but now she at least had a way she could contribute.

She could finally help.

Tayuya placed the flute against her lips and began to play, the song rang out from her flute while Naruto stared at her, almost mesmerized. Slowly Naruto's eyes began to follow trails of chakra coming from her flute as they began to spiral and gather.

Tayuya kept her eyes closed shut as she continues to play her song, the chakra twisted and molded around her.

"Woah…"

Naruto said while the chakra violently twisted on itself creating a form, 'If you should ever find yourself in danger or hurt. If you should find yourself lost… I want you to call on me, Naruto.' Tayuya thought in her head while the chakra folded in on itself before expanding.

'Cause just like you are for me, I'll be for you too. Even if it scares me, even if I don't know if I can… Just call my name you idiot…'

Tayuya continued to think to herself as Naruto looked up at the large figure she was now sitting on its large shoulder as the other arm lifted a large mace.

"Cause I'll be there."

Tayuya said finishing her song on her flute as the mace smashed through Naruto's cage, shattering it apart, setting the blonde free. Naruto looked at Tayuya with a smile on his face as she looked back at him with a smile on her face as well.

"That guy is pretty ugly."

Naruto joked while Tayuya snickered, "Well this ugly guy just saved your life, show some gratitude." The girl said, patting on her Doki who grunted in response.

"Thanks, Ugly guy."

Naruto thanked the undead summon while he released his fingers from the seals on them, "You're a piece of work, now let's get out of here. I'm sure they need help out there." Tayuya said as Naruto lifted his hand.

"Tayuya, there's other people here. More of the villagers, they're being kept in other cells around. Could you free them too?"

The blonde asked while Tayuya looked at the blonde for a moment as she nodded her head, "Got it, you go support those dumbasses out there." The girl said while Naruto blinked at her.

"What?"

"You're oddly cooperative."

"Shut up, Shithead. It's just… the more the village owes us the more stuff we can get. That's all."

Tayuya said unconvincingly while Naruto laughed at the girl who huffed.

"I can rely on you."

Naruto said turning his head toward the exit, dashing toward it in a gust of wind leaving Tayuya by herself as another smile cracked on her face.

"Of course you can."

The girl spoke, leading her Doki to the rest of the cells holding the villagers in them.

Meanwhile outside Rubi was on the backfoot as bright scales shot toward her, the white-haired woman flipped landing on her feet right as Fu shot through the scales slashing at her.

"Damn it."

Rubi gritted her teeth as Fu kicked against her guarding arms, "You really thought you could take my friend and get away with it? You must be dreaming, lady!" The girl spoke as Rubi's pink eyes flared.

Elsewhere another explosion went off as Boro flew through the air with smoke trailing off of him, "Struck a nerve?" The brown-haired young man asked as Tsubasa flew toward him.

"Striking a nerve is the least of your worries, Bounty Hunter."

Tsubasa spoke while Boro barely managed to block another heavy hit from the gray-haired teen toward the ground. Boro flipped crashing into the ground kicking up a cloud of dust that he recovered out of landing on his feet.

The bounty hunter brandished his axes as Rubi flipped, landing next to him, "You were followed?" the woman growled as Boro huffed.

"No way, I wouldn't let that happen. You know that."

Boro growled back as Rubi glared at him, "Useless dog." She growled while two silhouettes walked through the dust cloud.

Two sets of orange eyes landed on them, one set of honey and the other set of flames as Fu and Tsubasa shifted into their stances.

"Sis!"

The twins yelled sliding to Rubi and Boro's side before glaring toward the pair of teens in front of them. "You stole my friend… you die for that." Tsubasa growled as Boro huffed, lifting his axes in a taunting manner toward the gray-haired boy.

"Then come and kill me."

Boro taunted as Rubi looked at her side, "Dia, Eme. You take care of the girl. Mutt, you and I will personally take care of this trash that's after our lord." Rubi explained as she glared toward the two teens.

"This doesn't end until you kill all of the-"

Rubi's words died in her mouth as a heavy sensation waved over her, the twins eyes widened while Boro took a step back.

The air itself seemed like it had shifted, as if a large presence of a large beast had been rapidly approaching. The twins instinctively moved into defensive stances while Rubi struggled to stand her ground against the feeling of needing to run.

"What the hell is that?"

Rubi spoke as Naruto landed in front of Tsubasa and Fu, slowly his blue eyes glared into the white-haired woman's, causing her to back up.

'The hell? Is this really the same guy as before, this chakra is insane!'

Boro thought to himself as Naruto stood to his full height from his landing before he turned toward the other teens.

"Hey, you guys are awesome. You know that?"

The blonde said while Fu beamed a bright smile at him, "Daw shucks! It sucks you missed our entrance; it was so cool! Tsubasa was on fire, and I came crashing in and things were exploding!" Fu excitedly explained while Naruto gently patted her head.

"One thing at a time, we got some business to take care of. I want to hear all about it after this, of course."

Naruto laughed toward the girl before he turned back around the warm blue of his eyes quickly shifting to an icy blue.

"Y'know, I still believe in you. Right Boro?"

The blonde said while the young man flinched at his words, "I'll take the lady, we've got unfinished business. Of course, the final blow is for Tsubasa." Fu said as Tsubasa pointed his blade at Boro.

"Same for me."

Tsubasa said while Naruto closed his eyes and huffed looking toward the twins as he popped his knuckles.

"Sounds like we've already got a plan then."

Naruto said while Rubi growled, "We'll kill you all!-" The woman was cut off as she was drop kicked by Fu. Meanwhile Boro barely had time to react as Tsubasa attacked him leaving Naruto with the twins.

The girls looked at Naruto with a slight fear in their eyes as the blonde slowly pulled a kunai from his pouch. "So, I remember earlier about you guys saying something about playing… ok then." Naruto tossed the kunai into the air, pulling two more from his pouch before catching it out of the air with his teeth.

"Let's play."

Naruto said as the girls flinched before they rushed at the blonde to attack him.

{...}

Rubi deflected several kunai that were thrown by Fu as the green haired girl quickly moved into close quarters.

Fu kicked her leg upward toward Rubi's chin, the woman leaned her head back avoiding the kick before another slammed into her gut. Rubi coughed as Fu spun, her heels pivoting in a rotating motion slamming multiple kicks into the woman sending her flying.

Fu's wings sprouted out of her back as she dashed toward the woman, spraying a mist of fine scales into the air. Rubi recovered landing on her feet while staring toward the scale cloud, she performed a hand sign pointing toward the ground before lifting her finger upward.

A large red gem shot out of the ground covering over her in an attempt to defend herself from the scales, the mist of scales blasted over the gem while Rubi growled. Fu stuck her hand out toward the scales before opening her fingers.

"Scale Powder Gleam!"

Fu yelled as the scales began glowing before the blinding light cloaked over the white-haired woman, Rubi dashed backward out of the scales while covering her eyes, "It's so bright!" the woman yelled before the teenage girl slammed a knee into her side.

Rubi slid as Fu's wings vibrated heavily lining up for another dash, Fu stopped just before she dashed leaning backward as red chains suddenly shot out of the ground around her. The green haired girl backflipped out of the way of the chains that were pulling themselves out of the ground, she then looked up toward Rubi who gripped her hand around the chains.

"For even daring to try to disgrace my lord, to think you stand a chance against him. I'll make sure you all die here."

Rubi spoke as she tugged the red chains toward her, the woman's eyes gleamed a dark pink as she spun the chains around herself, "Crystal Style: Hell's Prison!" the woman yelled, launching the mass of red chains toward Fu.

Fu flew backward avoiding the chains while she formed hand signs, "Scatter Shower!" Fu yelled, exhaling multiple gusts of scales that exploded into bigger clouds as her feet touched the ground. "I'll need to get closer in to keep her locked into close combat, it looks like long range is her specialt-"the girl was cut off by chains coming out of the ground wrapping around her shin.

Fu felt herself get lifted into the air and spun around before she was slammed into the dirt, "I don't need to be able to see you to reach you with my chains, your little dust isn't going to work anymore." Rubi growled as she pulled Fu toward her.

The green haired girl struggled against the chains as she was being pulled, Fu gritted her teeth before grabbing a kunai and stabbing at the chains only for the blade to break. Rubi then pulled Fu into her grasp, cracking the teenager in the face with a punch.

"Now die."

Rubi spoke as more red chains formed into a tight spiral forming a lance, the woman stabbed the lance toward the girl who took a deep breath inward before slapping her hand against the exposed abdomen of the woman. A small cloud of scales formed before exploding into a big cloud.

Fu flew backward out of the cloud, landing on her feet while Rubi cut through the cloud with her chains. "Every breath you take and trick you pull is only denying the inevitable. Yet you struggle regardless, how witless." the woman spoke while Fu glared toward her.

"Inevitable? I can't even spell that, Lady. The one who's witless is the person who talks a big game before the fight's over..."

Fu said while her wings grew larger, within the seal Chomei gave the girl a nod as Fu shot the tailed beast a thumbs up. Her chakra flared around her as Rubi glared toward her.

"And I'm just getting started."

Fu spoke as she dashed toward the woman who readied another chain lance.

Meanwhile Naruto smoothly evaded the attacks from the twin girls who swiped at him aggressively, Dia attacked the blonde from above while Eme opted to attack the blonde from a lower angle in an attempt to overwhelm the blonde.

Naruto dodged a few more attacks from them before he pivoted off of his heel slamming a back kick into Dia sending her flying backward before his eyes focused on Eme, "Classic divide and conquer!" the teen yelled as he slammed a knee into the young woman's gut.

Eme coughed as Naruto's hand pushed her backward, the blonde followed up with a combination of punches and kicks keeping the girl as close as he could as he pummeled the attacks into her. The blonde ended the combo with a kick as Dia came dashing back over slashing toward the blonde with extended sparkling nails, he flipped over her slash before forming hand signs.

"Wind Style: Gale Separation!"

Naruto yelled, extending his hands outward toward them as a large blast of air slammed against the twins, he then flipped in the air landing on his feet. He looked at the dust cloud that was kicked up from his attack as it was slashed away.

"Gosh, you really are scary Mr. Demon."

"But this really is a lot of fun!"

The girls spoke as Dia was on all fours on the ground her nails had grown longer and sparkled as her sharp pink eyes glared toward the blonde as Eme was crouched on top of her sister's back her nails had grown out sharper as well sparkling a green color with a glare toward the blonde as well.

"Let's keep having fun!"

The girl yelled as they quickly dashed toward the blonde, "They're fast." Naruto said as he blocked the strikes from them, the two girls struck at the blonde in unison as he did his best to keep up with the giggling twins who attacked furiously.

Naruto kicked the strike from Eme out of the way as Dia threw multiple jabs at him with her nails that he had to block and deflect with his other hand, Eme slashed at him again cutting his face as Dia slashed into his side with her nails.

The blonde gritted his teeth as the cooperation of the pair of sisters continued to push at his guard slowly slipping through it as he did his best to manage his attackers, "Faster faster! Bleed more, Demon!" the girls laughed as their attacks picked up speed.

Naruto continued to block as much as he could before they were beginning to break through his guard further into him, Dia stomped on the ground roughly slamming a kick into the blonde's guard while another quick strike from Eme broke it.

The twin grinned wickedly as they both spun, gemstones of emerald and diamond covering their legs as they slammed their kicks into the blonde. "Crystal Style: Ore Splitter!" the twins yelled out in unison as the crystals on their legs exploded.

They both back flipped away from the explosion as they laughed, "Aw, you aren't all tuckered out already, are you?" "You definitely lasted longer than others but we're still having fun, you can't die on us yet." the girls laughed as the sound of footsteps made them stop.

Naruto stepped out of the kicked-up dirt as he looked over his small wounds, he lifted a hand brushing dust off of himself while he looked almost unfazed from their attack.

"That was pretty good, but if that was you trying to kill me… I'm disappointed."

Naruto said as the twins felt the air pressure change around them while wind chakra built around his legs, the blonde's eyes landed on them as he huffed.

"Let's play a little faster this time."

The blonde spoke as the twins glared, getting back into a fighting stance while the blonde seemed to vanish toward attacking them.

"So… all of this. For some idiot. A bit much don't you think?"

Boro spoke to Tsubasa while they were standing on the roof of the building together, "A bit much? You think this is some kind of joke? He's my friend and these people… everyone who's suffered under the boot of that bastard and you work for him? Your king?" Tsubasa spat out while Boro huffed.

"He ain't my king, but he puts dinner on the table. Anything else outside of that is just extra, growl all you want Smokey. I've survived worse and I'll survive you too."

Boro said while Tsubasa looked at the brown-haired young man for a moment before a chuckle came out of his mouth, "What? Now you find me funny or something?" the young man asked while Tsubasa shook his head at Boro.

"No… you said you survived worse. I just thought that was funny… because whatever that worse was. It wasn't me."

Tsubasa said darkly as Boro lifted his axes, "You come with a warning label or something gu-" the young man was cut off by flames while Tsubasa quickly closed the distance between himself and the brown-haired young man.

His blade spun in his hand as his grip tightened around it, he slashed and struck at Boro who defended and countered with his hatchets. Tsubasa aggressively struck at Boro pushing the young man back as his eyes gleamed their fiery orange.

Boro quickly defended against the slashes of Tsubasa's blade trying to strike wherever he could in the openings that Tsubasa made, but Tsubasa attacked tightly not allowing Boro much headway to gain an advantage against him.

Boro spun striking with both his hatchets as Tsubasa cut toward him with his blade, the gray-haired teen's blade set alight with flames that barely scraped the bounty hunter's face with a swipe. The young man wasted no time kicking the back of Tsubasa's leg.

Tsubasa involuntarily kneeled while a kick slammed across his face, the teen hit the roof tiles hard enough to crack them while Boro jumped into the air slamming his hatchets downward. Tsubasa rolled out of the way of the attack causing Boro to slam into the spot cracking it further.

Boro turned toward Tsubasa who grabbed his collar, the young man tried to swipe at the teen, but his feet were swept from underneath him. Tsubasa glared at him before gripping his hand over his face pushing his head downward.

Tsubasa pushed Boro through the roof sending them crashing into the floor of the room underneath them, the teen lifted his hand covering it in his flames as he brought it down on Boro who managed to kick his way out rolling to his feet.

Boro dashed toward Tsubasa, slashing at him with his weapons as the teen evaded the slashes before countering the last few slashes with his own blade, they traded blows in the middle of the room with the light beaming down at them from the hole they made in the roof.

Tsubasa was smacked across the face as Boro quickly followed up with a drop kick making the gray-haired teen's back slam against the wall, the young man dashed toward the teen with another attack but was quickly countered.

Boro felt a kick slam into his gut as Tsubasa glared toward him, the teen slammed two hard punches against his face until his back was on the wall on the other side. Boro tried to get off of the wall, but he was kicked back into it.

Tsubasa threw punches pummeling his fists against Boro rapidly and heavily while the brown-haired young man tried to find grounding, the wall behind began to crack from the sheer amount of force Tsubasa was hitting him with.

Boro was overwhelmed as his eyes looked toward Tsubasa's, he had seen the eyes of many in all types of situations.

The eyes of someone who had been surprised, the eyes of someone who had been hurt, the eyes of something who wanted to kill him. Each of these situations he was always able to tell what the person he saw them through was feeling.

Tsubasa's eyes almost reminded him of Naruto's but… different. Even with the coldness of that blue there was still a warmth that was there that spoke to his character.

Not Tsubasa's though.

His eyes right now weren't looking at someone.

They were looking at something in the way, Tsubasa wasn't swinging at a person in his perspective but an obstacle he had to break through to get to what was behind it.

An indifference cloaked over a burning rage.

Boro's eyes widened as he heard the sound of smashing, then he felt the sensation of air flying past him. His yellow eyes met briefly with Tsubasa's orange ones as he flew backward, the young man then coughed as Tsubasa flew out of the hole kicking him square in his gut.

Tsubasa glared toward Boro as they both crashed into the ground, Boro rolled, losing his hatchets in the process. The bounty hunter groaned as Tsubasa stalked toward him brandishing his blade.

"You're in the way…"

Tsubasa said coldly while Boro formed a hand sign, "Earth Style: Stone Confinement!" he yelled as he stuffed his hands into the ground. Tsubasa took a step toward him ready to slash before Boro turned, launching dirt at his face that wrapped around it before hardening.

"Isn't this the way it should be? None of that hope crap! Just trying to survive, that's the truth for beasts like you and me, isn't it?!"

Boro yelled as he obtained his weapons trying to attack Tsubasa whose head began to smoke, right as Boro's strike was about to land flames shot out of the earth mask on Tsubasa's mask blowing it apart in time for the gray-haired teen to deflect the strike.

Tsubasa punched Boro in the face, sending the young man crashing into the ground, "I can see in your eyes… you aren't like them. Filled with hope or joy like they are… you're different. You're like me. Just another killer. Someone else that gets the truth." the young man said while orange eyes glared at him with every step.

"It's all pointless, needing or wanting any more than what we already have… then what we deserve. We all live for something and there's nothing more than that thing… no dreams… no hope… just reality. That reality being the cruelty of the ones who live. Not a single drop of mercy for the living. That's why people like you and me who get that truth are the survivors."

Boro said while he attacked Tsubasa who quickly countered the boy quickly attacking him back slamming him back into the ground, "I need to survive… I'm not done fulfilling my purpose yet… I'm not done surviving yet. I have to kill you and then I have to kill them… and I have to keep killing and killing. That's all there is… that's the only truth!" Boro yelled as he gripped his hands into the ground forming axes out of rock before attacking Tsubasa who remained speechless.

"The rest of that shit is only for movies and tv. Tell me you get it! Tell me you understand! Tell me every single word of crap that came out of Naruto's mouth isn't real! Not for you and not for me!"

Boro yelled as Tsubasa caught his axe out of his swing slamming a punch into his gut sending the bounty hunter to his knees coughing.

How long had it been since he had last been alone? Since he had met Naruto, Tayuya, and Fu? It's been about a week now; it's felt longer yet it's also felt way too short.

He didn't even notice it but wasn't Boro telling the truth? Wasn't what the words he was saying true? Weren't they the only things that rang through his mind from the moment he left the ashes of his home all that time ago?

So, what was it about him that changed that for him?

Tsubasa looked toward where Boro was sitting and only found a younger version of himself standing in front of him with darkened eyes.

'Burn them… you have to kill them all.'

The younger version of himself said while Tsubasa blinked at the boy, that was his purpose, that was his goal and even now at the moment he still planned on killing them all. Yet he felt differently about those words that Boro had spoken.

What changed?

'Do you like killing?'

Tsubasa remembered Fu asking him while his memories of the brief time with their little group went through his head, the way Naruto would grin and reassure the group as they moved forward, the way Tayuya would try to be realistic about their situation poorly concealing her worries, and the way that Fu would always cheer them all up.

"Oh."

Tsubasa said out while Boro gritted his teeth, "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now, come on you have to kill me or I'm going to kill you!" the bounty hunter on the ground yelled as Tsubasa saw himself again after he lost against Naruto.

'Kill me!'

His memory rang out while Tsubasa stared past the memory and toward Boro who glared at him from the ground trying to get up. His past didn't change, the things that he's done hadn't changed, his circumstances hadn't changed.

It was himself.

He changed.

He was no longer the man that he was then, he was different and while little had changed in that time, he had become…

"No… I won't kill you."

Tsubasa said while Boro's eyes widened, "What the hell? You become some kind of coward during our fight?! Drop that and fight! It's the only way to survive this!" Boro yelled while the gray-haired teen shook his head at the yellow eyed young man.

"I don't want to survive."

Tsubasa said while Boro's expression shifted into shock as the teen's eyes stared into his, "Just making it to the next day, drifting mindlessly into the next endeavor for some fruitless meaning… I don't want that. I don't want to survive…" the teen said as he looked at the sky.

"I want to live."

Tsubasa spoke while Boro continued to look at the gray-haired boy in shock, "When I kill the Bandit King… I don't want my life to end there, I want to see what's next. I wanna see more, to do more. Spend more time with my friends. Learning more about what I want to do. I just want more. I want to live for more. Not just revenge." the teen explained while Boro growled.

"There isn't more. You know what you've done, just like I know what I've done. We don't get to take that back to live out our dreams, we carry that with us. We pay for that, and we don't stop until our lives are over or that debt is paid."

Boro explained while Tsubasa looked at him, "Debt? What debt? What penance does someone need to pay just to live?" the teen asked while the bounty hunter growled.

"The lives we've taken! We're beasts! Dogs! We're nothing like any of those other people that haven't done what we have! We don't get to live the lives that they live, to have the things that they have. To dream the dreams that they do! As long as we have blood on our hands there won't be any kind of peace for us until we die!"

Boro yelled as Tsubasa's expression softened, "We have taken lives… but we're also alive. No matter what happens those lives that we've taken don't come back, that goes both ways. No matter how much we kill or how many we save. That doesn't change, but we can change." the teen spoke as Boro growled.

"How?"

Boro asked through his growl while Tsubasa shook his head, "I don't know… I'm not good with people or words like Naruto is so I don't think I could explain even if I tried. All I have is a thought." Tsubasa said as Boro sat on his knees.

The young man's hands gripped at the dirt while he gritted his teeth hard, "What thought? What kind of thought could go through the head of a beast that would make it want to live?" Boro asked while Tsubasa looked directly into his eyes.

"The only thing I'm good at is killing… I don't want that to be the only thing I'm good at anymore."

Tsubasa said simply with a somber look on his face, but his eyes were different now, gone was the indifference and the rage of another beast he saw earlier. Instead, he could only see the warmth of a person. "Don't look at me like that... Don't look at me warmly… I took your friend. I've done nothing but kill things. I don't have anything. I'm just a dog…" Boro said as Tsubasa sheathed his blade.

Flashes of Boro's mother smiling warmly toward him and all of her playfulness despite being sick entered his mind and aligned with the normally calm disposition of his father watching them play together. The flashes changed into his dead mother and father from the open doorway.

"...Does something like me… even deserve to live?"

Boro asked while Tsubasa stared at the young man for a brief moment before he reached out a hand, the young man looked at the hand as Tsubasa reached further grabbing onto Boro's sleeve lifting him slightly off of his knees and onto his feet.

"I don't know… but you're the one who has to figure that out. No one else."

Tsubasa said as he turned around leaving the young man standing by himself, Boro stared at Tsubasa's running back as he clenched a fist at his side.

"Oh Boro… You'll be good, I promise..."

His mother's voice rang in his head while he clenched his eyes closed.

{...}

Rubi drilled the chain lance in her hands into the ground just missing Fu who avoided the attack, the green haired girl exhaled more scales that Rubi quickly cut through pursuing her with her attacks. Fu spun kicking Rubi in the face while she pushed her face against the girl's foot causing her to spin.

"There!"

Rubi yelled, slamming the lance into Fu's back sending her crashing into the ground, "Damn it." Fu said while she panted as Rubi approached her. "I'll mount your head right where my lord can see it, right along with the rest of your friends. Your deaths will be painful to act as a reminder to anyone else who dares to defy our lord, his reign is absolute! You are all just insects!" Rubi yelled while more scales fit her in the face.

"Has anyone told you they find you very annoying? Because you are very annoying! Last time I checked, mounting heads was a terrible way to get a guy's attention!"

Fu taunted while Rubi growled again, "My lord is not just some guy!" the woman roared, launching a shower of chains toward her that Fu weaved through carefully keeping her eyes on Rubi who rushed toward her to attack again.

Naruto spun kicking away the girl as he blasted toward them both, Dia slashed at the blonde who leaned under it before slamming a kick into Eme.

Dia tried attacking the blonde again who caught her fist slamming a knee into her gut. The young woman flew backward where she was kicked into the air by a clone, Dia spun while another blasted into the air kicking her higher into another clone that spun and slammed a fist into her launching her into the ground.

Eme rushed Naruto while the blonde dodged her strikes, "You guys really rely on each other too much huh?" the blonde said while Eme growled attacking faster while the blonde continued to evade before grabbing her face with his hand and driving her into the ground.

Dia ran toward the pair, "Eme!" the young woman yelled while Eme ran out of the dust, "This guy is a lot, huh sis?" the girl with green nails spoke while Dia smiled. "But not for us!" the girl yelled with a grin while Naruto appeared out of the dust running toward them.

"I got you now!"

Dia quickly dashed across the ground fast enough to slip through the blonde's guard slashing him in the side with her nails, Dia's grin quickly vanished as the blonde turned into smoke. "Ugh another clone! Quick we need to find hi-" Dia was cut off by a punch hitting her face.

"Eme?! What are you?"

Dia asked while her sister was attacking her, the girl looked conflicted as she continued to take attacks from her sister. "Eme! Stop!" Dia yelled while she pushed away her sister. "Dia! That's not me! Where are you?!" Eme yelled from behind a cloud of dust while Dia glared at her attacker quickly countering it as it vanished into smoke.

"Damn him!"

Dia yelled while he dashed toward where her sister was, Eme left the crater she was left in while she pursued Naruto. The blonde ran backward as Eme lifted her nails while glaring toward the blonde teen, Dia appeared behind the blonde kicking at him.

Naruto avoided the kick as Dia flipped, landing at her sister's side, "Eme! He's using clones! He's trying to throw us off!" the young woman yelled while Eme growled, "This one in front of us is probably also a clone too! Let's find the real one!" Eme yelled while the Naruto in front of them vanished into smoke.

"See I was righ-"

Eme was suddenly kicked in the face by Dia who grinned at her, "Dia!" Eme yelled while her sister attacked her aggressively slamming a fist into her chest. "Eme! Where are you?!" Dia's voice yelled from elsewhere while Eme growled.

She dispatched the clone running toward the sound of her sister's voice, eventually she and Dia met in the middle, "Dia!" "Eme!" The girls cheered but stopped just before making contact with each other. They both gave each other skeptical looks.

"How do I know you are you?"

"I could ask you the same?"

"You look untrustworthy, you might be a clone!"

"That's exactly what a clone would say!"

"You're a clone!"

"No, you!"

The girls fought while the ground underneath them cracked a little before Naruto punched through the ground trying to attack the girls but they both grinned "Psych!" they spoke at the same time both of them kicked at Naruto.

The blonde flipped backward landing with a huff, "Did you really think that we wouldn't get your little trick after the first two times?" "Looks like you were the idiot bringing yourself out thinking you had a good opening." the girl spoke while they glared at Naruto.

"Dumbass!"

They yelled at the same time while Eme started to form hand signs as Dia dashed toward Naruto kicking and slashing at him, "Crystal Style!" Green crystals came out of the ground and shot toward Naruto and Dia. They flew toward the pair as Dia chuckled, flipping over Naruto who lifted his guard to attempt to block the incoming crystals.

"Crystal Style!"

Dia yelled, forming hand signs as clear crystals shot from the ground on the opposite side of Naruto closing in on him, the sharp crystals came at him from both sides, trapping him in the middle as they trapped him in them.

"Twin Gem Havoc!"

The girls yelled out at the same time as they made their nails grow longer, "Now for the finale!" The girls yelled rushing toward Naruto from opposite sides dashing as fast as they could until they both stabbed into Naruto slamming against him hard enough to shatter the crystal prison he was in.

Dia looked at Eme while the girl cheered, "Gotcha, Demon!" Dia yelled before she noticed something while their nails had dug into Naruto, and they had hit him without disappearing. There was something that was very off.

She didn't see any blood.

"I told you… you guys rely on each other way too much."

Naruto spoke as his body began to glow brightly; Dia's eyes widened as she looked toward her sister with a panicked expression on her face. "Eme, it's a clone it's gonna-" Dia was cut off as her twin sister gave her an oddly calm look.

The twins had been inseparable since birth, they had arrived at the world 30 seconds one after one another. The first to be born was Eme then 30 seconds later Dia would be born, from that point on along with Rubi they were inseparable.

They hardly knew their mother, but they didn't care because they had Rubi. Rubi was their older sister and the only parent they knew but even when their older sister couldn't be there for them, they both always had each other, and they swore to do everything together. To always be by each other's sides no matter what had happened.

30 seconds as all that it took to create their bond and bring them together.

3 seconds was all it took to separate them.

"Eme?"

Dia asked while Eme threw her sister off of the exploding clone a little further away, "It sucks… technically being the older one but hey… what can you do?" Eme asked while Dia looked at her sister as her expression changed into horror.

"EME!"

"I love ya, sis."

The twins each spoke as the blinding light of the explosion engulfed them both as the explosion shook the part of the forest the clone detonated in; Naruto meanwhile looked toward the explosion with a somber expression before he shook his head dashing toward where Fu was.

Tsubasa dashed, running quickly toward a shower of red chains and Fu flying through them trying to avoid as many as possible, his eyes narrowed while flames covered his feet. He rushed even quicker than before toward the girl wasting no time picking her up out of the way of more chains.

"Tsubasa!"

Fu cheered while the teen landed on his feet, "Sorry, I took long." The gray-haired boy apologized while Fu shook her head at him.

"Damn mutt. I should have expected he wouldn't stand a chance here. No matter."

Rubi said while she tugged the chains backward, the chains dug into the ground cutting through it toward Fu and Tsubasa who quickly flipped, dodging the chains. The chains spiral wrapping into a chain lance that Rubi was about to attack with, but a blast of wind launched her into the ground.

"You guys, ok?!"

Naruto asked while sliding in front of Tsubasa and Fu, "Yeah! Looks like the gang is pretty much all together for this fight!" the girl spoke excitedly as Rubi quickly made it back to her feet. Her eyes landed on Naruto as they slowly widened.

"...Where are they? My sisters… Those girls…"

Rubi spoke while Naruto took a breath before narrowing his gaze toward the white-haired woman along with Tsubasa and Fu who prepared themselves for a fight, Rubi meanwhile stared at her hands as they started to tremble.

Those two…

The image of Rubi washing the twin's hair when they were younger flashed into her mind while the woman sucked in sharp breaths, this wasn't what was supposed to happen… This wasn't supposed to be the result. These people should have fallen, they should be dead. Nothing but fodder in the path of her lord.

But they lived, they fought, they ruined her plan and took her sisters away.

A stifled sob came out of Rubi's mouth as she growled, "You… All of you! You'll pay! I'll make sure all of you pay! Screw waiting for my lord to show up and see!" The women's chakra flared while Naruto and the other's covered their eyes.

A large red crystal shot out of the ground while multiple smaller crystals surrounded the woman encasing her within it, Rubi's chakra continued to flare as the crystal began to compress smaller and smaller around her, eventually cracking.

"No…"

Rubi spoke as the red crystals compressed around her one more time before shattering, the shattered crystals showered around the woman as her clothes now had crystals that had formed on them with red chains tightly wrapped around her arms as her hot pink colored eyes glew darkly.

"I'll kill you myself."

Rubi said while Naruto formed a hand sign, "Tsubasa! Fu! We gotta act fast! Her chakra has completely changed!" the blonde yelled as Rubi took a step flying toward Naruto while lifting her hand, the chains around her arms extended toward her palm forming a chain lance.

"You first."

Rubi said coldly, thrusting the weapon toward the blond who blocked it but was blasting backward from the impact, Tsubasa kicked against her armor landing on his feet before slashing at her with his blade. Rubi turned to look at him as he blasted her form with flames.

Rubi quickly cut through the fire kicking Tsubasa into the ground hard enough to form a large crater, the teen coughed while Fu flew into the air, the girl dive bombed toward Rubi who simply glared at her causing chains to launch out of the ground swatting her out of the air.

The air pressure changed as Naruto blasted toward the woman at high speed, he slammed a fist against the crystal covering over her chest. "It's so hard!" the blonde said as focused more chakra to his fist pummeling into the woman with little effect.

Rubi lifted her chain lance over her head spinning it as she swiped at Naruto who avoided the attack, the impact flew past him tearing through several trees behind him. Rubi then thrusted the weapon down at him as Naruto did a back handspring into a handstand, he spun his legs in kicks in an attempt to gain some kind of distance, but the woman pretty much shrugged off the blows.

Naruto pressed his palm into the ground blasting himself backward with wind as Rubi swiped again, three clones appeared running toward the woman striking her with kicks and punches while she quickly impaled through all three of them with chains.

The clones glowed before exploding violently, Naruto looked toward the explosion as Rubi stepped out of it undamaged. "Try, try and try. I'll have your heads!" Rubi dashed toward Naruto at high speed as Tsubasa quickly intercepted kicking the woman off course.

"Fu!"

The teen yelled while Fu sprouted her wings from her slamming them into Rubi who flew through a wall from the impact as the trio grouped together, "Geez, that armor is no joke. She's like a walking wall!" Fu spoke while Naruto cracked his knuckles.

"We've got to fight together, if she doesn't have any openings from individual attacks, we'll make some."

Naruto said while Rubi emerged from the wall she had crashed through, she quickly approached them again while Naruto jumped backward. Fu and Tsubasa rushed forward to meet the woman head on, Fu jumped over her while Tsubasa slashed at her with his blade against her armor.

"That doesn't work!"

Rubi yelled while Tsubasa kept slashing, he avoided a few chains flying at him as Fu took a deep breath, "Scatter Shower!" the girl yelled as clouds of scales burst on the ground around the woman. Rubi growled as she was about to send more chains, but flames flew into the cloud detonating it.

Rubi cut through the black smoke with her lance, Tsubasa closed the distance between himself and her his fists setting on fire as he slammed punches against Rubi's body. The woman slammed her lance down on him just as he rolled out of the way, Fu slammed her wings against her from behind.

Rubi growled as Tsubasa and Fu switched spots while avoiding chains and attacking the woman as much as possible, the white-haired woman then knocked both of them away with chains that came out of the ground. The ground cracked as Naruto's clones broke through it slamming against her while exploding, Rubi's feet slid across the ground as she looked up.

A mass of clones flew through the sky falling towards her with attacks, Rubi glared at the falling clones as she spun her lance causing it to break into individual chains that started to cut through the clones falling toward her as Naruto ran across the chains making his way toward her.

"Dynamic entry!"

Naruto yelled kicking through the air landing a heavy kick against the crystal on her chest, he quickly landed on his feet forming hand signs as he attacked again "Wind Style: Vacuum Kick!" the blonde yelled, kicking the woman backward with the wind enhanced kick.

"Don't mind if I do!"

Fu exclaimed flying past Rubi wrapping her arms around the woman lifting her into the air before spinning downward, the girl dropped Rubi into the ground while taking another deep breath. "Damn it!" Rubi yelled as two of Naruto's clones blasted through the air kicking her in the chest.

Chain went through them both as Fu exhaled a large cloud of scales, Rubi sending chains flying upward and around herself while a section of the cloud began to spiral. Naruto cut through the cloud with a Rasengan in his hand that had begun to gather the scales in its rotation.

"Scale Shot: Rasengan!"

Naruto and Fu yelled as the blonde slammed the attack into Rubi's chest again, the Rasengan exploded sending more scales into the air as a small chip formed in the crystal on her chest. The woman recovered, turning to block a strike from Tsubasa, followed closely by a strike from Naruto.

Rubi scattered chains outward cutting the cloud away, she glared at Naruto and Tsubasa who stood on opposite sides of the woman before they crouched. Flames crawled up Tsubasa's legs while wind chakra built up and swirled around Naruto's.

"Don't stop moving!"

"Right!"

The two boys dashed seemingly disappearing while Rubi was trying to regain sight of them, flaming footsteps burning into the ground while Tsubasa slammed a few attacks in her, the breeze shook roughly as Naruto followed up immediately with more strikes.

Rubi could barely track the boys as they struck into her moving faster and faster in an 'X' shape of wind and fire chakra residue from their attacks was left behind as they continued to move attacking her, the strikes became harder and harder as Tsubasa appeared in front of her for a moment.

He punched a flame covered fist into the crystal on her chest, the punch left a flaming print on the crystal. Rubi reacted by attacking the boy, but he vanished and was replaced with Naruto who punched the same spot causing a small explosion.

Naruto vanished with Tsubasa taking his place again slamming another fire print into the crystal on her chest before vanishing with Naruto attacking it creating another larger explosion. The pair of boys repeated this pattern creating bigger and bigger explosions as they continued to attack at high speed, Rubi found an opening and struck but her lance went through the after image of the boy.

Her eyes widened as a spiral of Tsubasa's flames and wind chakra cut through the air fast enough to break the speed buried creating a sonic boom before slamming their kicks into her chest.

"Combination Style: Scorched Railway!"

Naruto yelled while Rubi coughed, the crystal on her chest cracking the crystal covering her chest. Rubi quickly jumped into the air covering herself in chains before crashing back down to the ground causing chains to erupt from underneath her.

The chains scattered all around her while the trio avoided the chains, "Time for the finale! All together now!" Fu yelled, extending her wings outward before flying at Rubi at high speed. She flew past Rubi hitting her with her wings several times with each pass.

She finally struck Rubi with enough force to lift her off of the ground as Naruto slid underneath her, two clones appeared kicking the woman higher into the air as the blonde launched himself from the ground slamming a punch in Rubi.

Rubi flew up higher as Fu grinned nodding at Naruto as Naruto smiled back nodding at her, they both started forming hand signs before they looked up toward the falling woman.

"Wind Style: Great Separation!"

"Great Scale Shot!"

They both yelled as a blast of wind and a cloud of scales flew toward her in a spiraling motion creating a tornado engulfed Rubi, Tsubasa ignited his legs with fire running toward the forming tornado in the air as Naruto's clones gave him a lift and boost into the air.

Tsubasa lunged into the air behind the tornado, he ignited his blade before launching himself toward the tornado cutting through it while slashing at Rubi's chest hitting the crystal. The tornado caught on fire with Tsubasa's flames as the teen landed.

"Let's wrap this up!"

Naruto yelled as he twisted his hands around moving the flaming tornado along with Fu and Tsubasa also twisting their hand along with him making it spin faster as they shifted the tornado's direction toward the ground.

"Combination Style: Triple Threat Tempest!"

Naruto and Fu called out while all three of them brought their hands downward slamming the tornado into the ground on top of Rubi, the woman screamed out while the tornado slammed against her and exploded. "Tsubasa!" Fu yelled while the gray-haired teen dashed past them pointing his blade toward the cloud of black smoke.

His flames crawled up to his arms covering over his blade, Rubi coughed as the crystal on her chest cracked even more. "For everything you've done! This ends!" Tsubasa yelled while he stabbed at Rubi the flames roared behind him as his attack landed.

"I thought I told you…"

Rubi spoke while Tsubasa noticed his blade had been caught in red chains that had quickly formed into a shield blocking the teen from striking true, "You die for that!" the woman yelled while she looked up toward him, she was heavily damaged, and blood ran over her right eye, but she kept the glare on her face.

"All of you are nothing! Barely even an ant on the path my lord walks upon! I'll kill you and whoever else dares to believe they can stop him from making his world into a reality! I won't break! I won't fall! I won't die until I've killed you and all of his enemies!"

Rubi yelled as more chains broke through the ground striking at Naruto and Fu pushing them back further away while more chains wrapped around Tsubasa crushing him in them as they tightened around him, Tsubasa groaned as the chains grew tighter and tighter.

"You… I'll crush you right now. Along with your ambitions. Your little revenge for that village ends here!"

Rubi yelled while she continued to crush Tsubasa, the gray-haired teen still with whatever he could muster continued to push his blade into the chains, but he could feel his grip beginning to loosen.

He was growing weaker as Rubi's wicked grin grew on her face, continuing to tighten the chains with her hand as Naruto and Fu struggled to get to him, "You're nothing. Just another dead body on the path of greatness, another pawn standing too high for his station… You should have died with the rest of those people that night along with all of my lord's other enemies." the woman said while Tsubasa's grip nearly slipped off of his blade as he became even weaker.

"Good night."

Rubi said right as Tsubasa's grip was about to completely slip, suddenly blood flew into the air. Rubi's eyes widened as a blade cut through the crystals covering her wrist, slicing it off before landing into the ground a little further away.

The hatchet gleamed with black stone shining on its blade.

"YOU DAMN MUTT!"

Rubi screamed as blood shot out of her wrist allowing Tsubasa to take a breath, "Yeah, that's me. The damn dog." Boro spoke as the gray-haired teen looked toward him.

"So, it looks like that can cut through, I guess I have the sister's games to thank for that."

Boro said while Rubi growled, "You traitorous bastard! You're an animal! You belong to me! You're my property! You act on my will! You live because I allowed it! How dare you turn your back on me! On our lord! A damn mutt like you only lives for his glory!" Rubi screamed while the bounty hunter looked at the women before he looked at the ground.

"Yeah, about that… What's with that 'Our Lord' business? That's all you, ya crazy bitch. As for that whole living thing… I would have agreed with you at one point but now… I really don't wanna."

Boro spoke while Rubi glared at him as a smirk crawled on his face, "I know life ain't a damn movie but there's one thing I do know…" the yellow eyed young man said while chains shot at him but were stopped as Naruto quickly dashed kicking her other wrist.

"You aren't getting your happy ending!"

Boro yelled as he ran forward with his other hatchet slamming it into the crystal on her chest shattering it completely, Rubi's eyes widened as she spat out blood, "I'll kill you-" She was cut off by a jab to her chest making her cough out more blood as Tsubasa attacked her.

Tsubasa attacked her with more jabs as he juggled her with his blows into her body, striking harder and harder until she flew into the air.

"So, sail off into the sunset, straight to hell! Courtesy of your loving mutt!"

Boro yelled while Rubi screamed out in pain as Tsubasa stabbed her through her chest, she coughed up even more blood as flames began to crawl up Tsubasa's blade.

The visage of the twins when they were younger tugged at her pant legs as she stared toward a bright light, in that light was the silhouette of a man looking down toward her with his hand extended and a sharp grin on his face.

Rubi took his hand as she stared into the dark golden orbs of the man in the brilliant light, she reached toward his face to touch it, but she was stopped as the brilliant light faded away only leaving the man she saw in a shadow that covered over his disappointed look on his face.

"You were supposed to be more, Rubi… Yet it seems like you have disappointed me too. So, die alone."

The man spoke while Rubi's face became distraught as she whimpered watching the visage of the man disappearing along with the twins, "My lord… Please… My Lord!" Rubi yelled at nothingness as her body set on fire.

"MY LORD!"

Rubi screamed into the air as Tsubasa pushed his blade to the hilt, igniting the woman in fire until she completely burned away into ash, the gray-haired teen landed on his feet while he slowly looked back toward Boro who looked away.

Tsubasa felt a faint smile crawl on his features as Fu tackled him into a hug, Naruto meanwhile sat down on the grass while Tayuya still riding on her doki's shoulder along with the freed villagers approached the group from the inside of the building.

{...}

Boushi watched as multiple villagers returned to their loved ones' sides as they happily reunited with those who lost them some time ago, the man's eyes began to water before he rubbed his eyes sending a smile toward the group standing further away.

"Thank you… A part of me thought it was impossible, that nothing would be able to get them back and win against that woman and her sisters. However, you all managed to do it. I'm so grateful."

Boushi spoke with watery eyes as Naruto rubbed the back of his head while Fu put up a peace sign, "That's what the good guys do! If I'm with these guys we can't lose!" the girl exclaimed while the group gave the bubbly girl a series of looks while Boushi bowed his head.

"This village, no... This land, is grateful to have people like you that would do what's right."

Boushi spoke with another bow as Tayuya rolled toward Naruto's side, "Remember something, Hat Guy. We never said we would be doing this for free." Tayuya said while Tsubasa huffed lightly expecting that response from the girl.

"That's right, I remember… What to give you all, I wonder. This is massive and I really don't know how much I could give you to thank you as much as I want to. Money? Supplies? Festivities?"

Boushi pondered while Fu bounced, "A party would be cool! We could practice more dancing and eat fun stuff!" the girl said while Tayuya rolled her eyes, "Obviously, it's supplies. The bigger this little crazy train gets the more we'll need to support a bunch of mouths, supplies would take us a lot further in our travels." the reddish haired girl said while Tsubasa rubbed his chin, "I'm sorry Fu, Tayuya has a point. If we're continuing to move, then we'll need to make sure we're stocked up." the teen spoke while Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before he smiled.

"Hey, our deal earlier… you said anything right?"

Naruto said while Boushi nodded his head, "Yes, of course and I mean that. It's the least we can do for everything that you all have done for us." the man said while the blonde nodded his head as he pointed toward the rising smoke from the big fight.

"We'll take that."

Naruto said while the other three's eyes widened, "The old castle compound? Where that woman that worked for the Bandit King had claimed? You really want that as your reward?" Boushi asked with surprise while the blonde nodded his head.

"Yup!"

"Oi Shithead! You aren't being serious are you!?"

"I can agree, there could be some advantages but taking over an entire compound seems like a bit much for what we are trying to do."

"The entire thing?!"

The other three spoke toward Naruto who laughed, "That shit ain't funny! What the hell are we supposed to do with ruins?!" Tayuya yelled as the blonde clapped his hands together before popping his knuckles and rolling his shoulders.

"Fix it up, of course. We can use it until we complete our mission, besides weren't you the one who said you were tired of sleeping on the ground? This is how we fix that; it also gives us the chance to remain close enough to the village if they need help or even other villagers as we are looking for the Bandit King. I see nothing but wins here."

Naruto explained while Tayuya shook her head, "Shithead…" the girl spoke while Fu bounced grabbing onto the blonde while smiling widely, "Wait, so we'll have a headquarters!? A Hangout?!" Fu asked excitedly while the blonde nodded his head.

"Yeah! If we're going to make sure we win, then we'll need a place to stay until we do. So, we'll need a headquarters."

The blonde explained while Tsubasa nodded his head, "I trust your judgment." the teen spoke while Tayuya looked into Naruto's eyes before she huffed and surrendered. "So, you'll take the compound as your reward? That's all?" the man spoke while the blonde shook his head.

"We'll take the compound and any information regarding the Bandit King or his people. If the villagers or you need any sort of help or even if someone has a tip, we can use to locate our next target we'll be here to take that. The Renegades are here until the job is done."

Naruto said while Boushi looked at the teen with watery eyes, "Thank you, of course. Then the place is yours! We'll be looking to you for any support or anything we find. Thank you, Renegades." the man bowed once more while the blonde grinned.

Naruto grabbed the back of Tayuya's wheelchair pushing her as Fu jumped in the air while cheering before giving Tsubasa a high five as they walked toward their new headquarters.

Later that night, Boro sat in the grass staring up at the stars in front of the damaged building while his hatchets laid beside him. He quietly sat by himself while he was thinking about multiple things that had transpired for him.

He was alive.

He wasn't sure that he should be, he wasn't even sure of what exactly that meant in the grand scheme of things. Tsubasa had told him that he had to figure it out, but how does one do that from square zero? His last few years were just spent killing and eating outside of that he didn't do anything more.

What was living?

Boro thought to himself while he looked off to the side and noticed an orange light coming from the trees close to the compound, he could tell it was a fire that was made. The yellowed eyed young man stared at the light before he stood to his feet.

If he didn't know where to begin, he knew where he could at least ask.

Naruto walked over the fire stirring a pot over the flames while Fu closed her eyes, "It smells so awesome, I'm being tortured." the girl fell over into Tsubasa's lap where the teen gently patted her head. "Just a little longer." he said calmly while Tayuya looked around.

"Ya know, Shithead. After all the preaching about not camping anymore, you were quick to make us sleep outside tonight."

"Listen, you know camping has been our thing. This is like a goodbye to it for a while, a little celebration before we move into the place and start cleaning up. We got a lotta work ahead of us in the morning."

Naruto and Tayuya spoke while the blonde continued to stir the pot with the food in it as the sound of a growling stomach caught their attention, they all looked up noticing Boro standing near them and the fire before he scratched the back of his head.

"I uh…"

"Take a seat, it'll just be a little longer."

Naruto said continuing to stir unfazed while Boro blinked, he then looked at Tsubasa who patted on the ground next to him prompting Fu to move to the other side of the boy. "Sure…" the young man said, sitting down while the blonde continued to cook.

"I'm sorry… for attacking you guys and saying all that stuff. I just… I really don't know what to believe. What it means to survive versus what it means to live... Whether or not being alive is a good thing. What happens after you know…"

Boro explained while Tayuya gave him a look, "Thinking about it so hard is what makes it difficult, why does everything gotta have some kind of reason? Sometimes things just are." she said in an oddly calm manner while the young man looked toward her.

"I don't know how to not think about it… I'm just a dog. I was satisfied with food and the occasional dream in my sleep but now things are different. I'm free and that scares me."

Boro said while Naruto pulled bowls from his bag, "Yeah me too," the blonde said while he scooped the contents of the pot into a bowl while the brown-haired boy gave him a look, "Me too!" Fu exclaimed while Tayuya stuck a hand up before Tsubasa nodded. "Me too." he said while Boro blinked.

"Then why? If it's scary then why put in the effort? Why continue to exist if you have no idea what you're doing? If you don't know what's right? If you don't deserve some kind of right?"

The young man asked while Naruto placed a bowl in front of Tayuya, then Fu, then Tsubasa, and finally Boro as he shrugged, "The hell even is right? What's wrong? When you're living then the only thing that matters is that you live. You don't need some kind of grand reason to do it. You could live for something dumb as long as it allows you to live happily. That's whatever you choose." the blonde said, making his own bowl while Boro looked toward the blonde.

"Could I eat?"

Boro asked looking for permission while Tsubasa lifted his own bowl looking toward the yellow- eyed young man, "Do you want to?" the teen asked while he began eating. The young man then looked toward Tayuya and Fu who wasted no time eating while the green haired girl closed her eyes and smiled.

"When you eat with us; I hope you know that makes you a Renegade too. While we can't exactly figure out your reason for you, we can help. That's what we do."

Naruto said while Boro stared into the bowl for a few moments, his thoughts took him to Rubi and the twins along with the open doorway leading to his dead parents inside of the room. He gritted his teeth until he lifted the bowl eating from it.

It was warm and tasty.

Boro continued to eat while Naruto's smile grew a little before he turned toward Tayuya, "What?" the girl asked while Fu and Tsubasa also looked at her, "The fuck are you guys looking at? What, you waiting for some negative comment? I have no reason to fight this, nor do I have the energy to debate about it, this new fucker already knows the drill based on his ass kicking earlier." Tayuya said while Boro gave her a look.

"Gee, if you're this agreeable after getting your flute back then imagine what I can get away with after I fix up your legs!"

Naruto laughed along with Fu and Tsubasa while Tayuya exhaled out of her nose, "Don't start getting fucking crazy, I'm still the rational one. I'm just letting this batshit fucker slide due to my infinite mercy and grace." the girl said while Boro snickered.

"What? You don't agree, Bounty Fucker?"

"Nah, I'm just saying the last thing that's infinite about you is grace."

"After I allowed you to stick around, the first thing you want to do is be an ass? Keep talking shit and I'll kill you"

"What are you gonna do? Walk over and try it? Oh wait."

"That's it!"

Tayuya and Boro went back and forth causing Naruto to hold onto Tayuya's chair prompting Fu and Tsubasa to laugh at her antics while the girl looked toward Boro, "So what about the Renegades makes you so eager to be around us?" Fu asked while Boro stared at his bowl for a second.

His thoughts went to the meal he shared with Naruto during their encounter before his thoughts shifted to Tsubasa's warm look in his eyes as he pulled him from the ground before finally the visage of his mother's smiling face.

"You'll be good… I promise."

Her words echoed through Boro's head as a smile crawled on his face before he looked Fu in her eyes, "Because there are girls in this group." the young man lied with a smirk on his face before looking back to his bowl.

"If this was some kind of sausage fest then I would have turned tail and ran."

"That's it! I'm fucking crawling!"

"Tayuya relax!"

"What's a sausage fest?"

Tsubasa watched the chaos break out in front of him while he closed his eyes feeling a rumbling in his chest before a laugh came out of it, Fu looked at the gray-haired teen and didn't see the normal look on his face as she smiled.

"Yup. One hell of a smile."

She said while Tsubasa genuinely had a smile on his face as he laughed at Boro and Tayuya going back and forth with Naruto trying to mediate the situation, the group continued to laugh around the fire as the smoke reached toward the starry sky above them.

It isn't a lot but…

Maybe this reason could be enough for now.

{...}

The moon shone brightly over a village while a blonde-haired woman walked toward a desk with a tray of steaming cups of tea approached, she gently placed the cups on the desk while a larger hand reached out and grabbed one.

"Thank you."

The large man said as his white colored mustache nearly twitched from how tense he was, he was growing quickly annoyed while the woman gave him a gentle look. "He'll be here." she spoke as the man clenched his fist tightly.

"He's late! That damn fool."

The man spoke while the door flew open revealing another white-haired man that had several red handled blades on his back, "I apologize for the lateness but when it comes to lyrics you can't rush greatness, fool ya fool!" the man rapped while the man sitting in his chair growled.

"Bee! I told you that I needed you here immediately, this mission is of high importance!"

The man raised his voice while slamming his fist on the desk spilling over the tea, the blonde woman's eye twitched before she quickly fixed her face looking toward Bee, "You always sweat! You can't just fret! When it comes to a threat, Killer Bee always says bet!" the swordsmen rapped while the man sitting at his desk took a breath.

"I received word from the Daimyo that our target of interest has gone back on his end of the bargain. He's begun to acquire power so much so that there are rumors that he's in control of large areas of the Land of Lightning even to the point where some of our own ninja from the Hidden Lightning are on his payroll."

The man explained while Bee was writing in a small notebook while bobbing his head, "You know all these lames are the same! I'll bring this fool down, so tell me a name!" Bee rapped again causing the man sitting at the desk to narrow his eyes.

"He's calling himself the Bandit King. Bee, your mission from your Raikage is to put an end to this power-hungry bastard once and for all!"

The Raikage raised his voice while Bee smirked, "While I'm happy to see, I have to ask you Big Bro. What kind of guy is this dude to call upon me?" the swordsman rapped while the Raikage leaned back in his chair.

"I also have been hearing rumors about a certain ninja being involved with a group people are calling the Renegades, they too are involved with this Bandit King. We also have reason to believe that the Blue-Eyed Demon is a jinchuriki along with another unidentified jinchuriki with these Renegades… I'm sending you to ensure they are dealt with as well."

The Raikage explained while Bee's eyebrows raised at the news, "A few jinchuriki? That's all good with me, when I show up, I'll make sure they flee." Bee said while the Raikage nodded his head.

"Your mission begins immediately… I also want you to take her with you. It'll be a good learning experience for her, but I don't see her with you."

The Raikage asked while Bee put his notebook down with a smile on his face, "Yeah, it's my student you can't see but trust me A. There, she'll already be. We'll wrap this up and come back winners, as a matter of fact…" Bee trailed off while he snapped his fingers pointing toward the Raikage.

"We'll be back before dinner."

The swordsman rapped confidently, vanishing from the room while the Raikage nodded, "I'd expect nothing less." the Raikage spoke while he looked out of the wind back toward the shining full moon.

Meanwhile crouched on the roof of the Raikage tower a pair of eyes stared down toward the Hidden Village; they glowed an ominous blue while the moonlight illuminated her blonde hair.

"More jinchuriki… That's a shame."