Shikamaru opened his eyes slowly feeling a level of contentment that he usually did after a good nap. However, that feeling faded as he looked over and saw that the twenty minutes that he had planned to take had stretched into an hour and a half making him late for a meeting to plan the new test for the Chunin Exams. Shikamaru didn’t sit up in a panic seeing as he was already late for it, but he did feel extremely annoyed.
Pulling himself out of bed, he left his room and upon passing the kitchen sighed as his mother was sitting at a table in the kitchen just staring out the window. “Mom, I thought that I asked you to wake me after twenty minutes.”
Yoshino looked away from a family of deer that were grazing at the edge of the forest. She looked at a clock and seeing she had completely missed the time that he had asked for her to wake him showed little concern as she said, “Sorry.” She then turned back to the window. Shikamaru felt a surge of anger, but didn’t say anything as he knew deep down she would have failed to rouse him when he asked. His anger bled off as he took stock of the kitchen’s condition which in the past would have been spotless, but now he could see areas where grim was accumulating even though she had just cleaned it.
“I’m heading out,” Shikamaru said and wasn’t too surprised that he didn’t receive a response in return. He reached for the pack of cigarettes in his vest pocket and put one in his mouth. He considered lighting it up in the house, but having learned his mother wouldn’t complain, half the reason he had taken up his teacher’s old habit had never materialized.
Stepping out of the house he lit up, and then put his hands in his pocket as he made his way to the Academy which was where a lot of the village’s business was being conducted until the Hokage mansion was rebuilt. Thinking of the proposed changes being made to the building which removed the residential portions in favor of making the building completely dedicated to village business, Shikamaru noted where the Hokage had decided to take up residence. She wasn’t the first Hokage not to live in the Hokage mansion, but most of those that hadn’t had chosen not to do so because they had families. The Third Hokage, for example had originally not lived in the building during his first term. But he had chosen to when he had retaken the position after the Fourth’s death, since his wife had died and his children had been for the most part grown.
Yet, what made The Fifth Hokage’s decision stand out wasn’t that she was removing the personal residence so much as where she had relocated. Shikamaru didn’t think it was a coincidence that she had elected to move into the Hidden Eddy Inn. In many regards, Tsunade was the poster child of what the Nara suspected was a special ability that Naruto possessed, which was that he made people want to become better versions of themselves. While he believed that ability had changed since his return, it only did so in the sense that it seemed to be more focused on a specific gender. Granted, he still noticed the change appearing in men that Naruto had influenced, but he suspected the relationships that he was forming with women were of a different variety.
Reaching the academy, he frowned at the non-smoking side posted on the door so put out his cigarette and tossed it away. Making his way up to Room three-hundred and one, he felt a sigh of annoyance as he threw open the door and received the annoyed glares of the other members of the Chunin Exam Committee.
He did notice that one of the glares that he would have normally received was muted as Karui seemed rather unconcerned with his tardiness. His gaze settled on her, and from her relaxed posture he was quickly able to ascertain that something positive had happened for her recently. He suspected that it was related to her love life which had been in the process of falling apart the last time they had met in regards to the Exams which had been in Amegakure. He had been able to discern that from a meal the members had attended due to her negative reactions to any public display of affection she had witnessed at the restaurant. From the lack of tension currently, he suspected the woman had recently taken a lover that had left her a quivering mess which had made her all but forget about her past troubles.
He also noticed that the recently returned Temari seemed to be hovering around the red-headed Kumo-nin. In and of itself, such a thing didn’t necessarily mean much since of the people that made up the group organizing the exams, the Suna and Kumo kunoichi had the most similar temperaments. Yet, rather than butting heads they had worked rather well together. But, currently he was noticing a type of unspoken bond between them.
He filed the information away and tried to analyze what had changed. He suspected that he knew what the catalyst was, but didn’t know the why. For example, he knew that Temari had likely become associated with Naruto about the time she had ended her interest in starting a relationship with him. He had realized that the kunoichi had developed a passing interest in him after her defeat by him in the Chunin Exams. It had grown stronger during the work they had done together for the previous exams. He even knew that she had intended to ask him out, but had disguised it as a lunch at a café to discuss an upcoming exam. He had purposefully arrived late to that meeting in order that she wouldn’t.
He chuckled mirthlessly as he had done so, because telling her that he didn’t want to start a relationship with a woman that had the same temperament as his mother was not in his life plan. Yet, now that his mother was so listless and unengaged he was finding he missed his mother’s troublesome attitude in his life. Still, that didn’t exactly mean that he regretted not pursuing a relationship with Temari. But, there were moments when he wondered if he should have taken his father’s comments about how a woman showed her tender side to a man that she loved a little more to heart. However, he could easily tell that if Temari did have a tender side it was not him that she had any intention of showing it to any longer.
“Glad to see I wasn’t the only one that was late,” A voice said from behind him. Shikamaru looked over his shoulder to see the amused and somewhat lazy looking kunoichi that was Amegakure’s representative and was named Fuyou.
The two kunoichi that had been giving him matching dark looks sighed in defeat before Temari stated, “Honestly, you two. It’s not like we haven’t been at this for years now.”
Fuyou stifled a yawn, before replying, “There really is no point in showing up early if you know one of the members is more than likely going to be late.”
“Especially if more often than not you are that late member,” Karui retorted. “In any case Temari and I have finalized the last test so look it over. We need to get going in order to prepare for a mission we have to escort a shipment heading to Kumo. Look it over and we’ll meet next month to finalize them.”
Karui and Temari didn’t wait for an acknowledgement knowing there would be letters passed between the various members so they quickly left the room along with the member from Kusagakure.
Fuyou echoed Shikamaru’s thoughts as she said, “Well something has her in a good mood. Normally, she’d waste more time berating us rather than focusing on work. Whatever that mission is, she was pretty eager to get to it.”
Shikamaru nodded his reading of the red-headed Kumo-nin leading him to believe she and Temari were eager to leave for the same reason. They headed to the table where the others had left the packets in regards to the parameters and conditions of the new test. The Nara picked it up and flipping through it saw that the test as he suspected was rather daunting in scoop. He sighed as it would take a lot of coordination to pull off, but could understand why it might be necessary.
His gaze drifted to Fuyou, while she read over her packet. He considered heading out to read it in a more reclined position, but stopped as she said, “This test is going to be pretty resource heavy to pull off.”
“Yeah,” Shikamaru admitted, “But, considering the number of participants it is easy to see why a fourth test is necessary. This one should do an excellent job of weeding out a good portion of them. But coordinating it is going to be a drag.”
The Ame kunoichi nodded briefly moving the large triangle like bang covering her left eye away to reveal her violet eye. “But, Lady Konan is rather eager to make sure only the best of the best are promoted. Iwagakure seems rather aggressive lately, plus there are troubling rumors…” Fuyou stopped herself while a look of surprise at what she was about to reveal appeared on her face.
Shikamaru frowned since he viewed it as a sign that the kunoichi didn’t trust him. He could understand it on one hand since one facet of the Alliance that people worried about was sometimes getting too comfortable with members from outside their home villages, and letting important information slip. Information, which could be used against a person’s home village at a later date. Shikamaru didn’t have the feeling that what Fuyou had been about to mention was intel of that nature. Instead, he believed it might be related to troubles within the Land of Rain itself.
He studied the kunoichi for a moment and she looked uncomfortable by his scrutiny as she knew of his high IQ so feared he would puzzle it out. Shikamaru was surprised that he hoped that she would open up to him about any issues in her home village, but attributed it to of the other committee members he tended to enjoy her companionship the most. This was because he found that while in her company he felt rather similar to how things had been between him and Temari, except Fuyou was far more relaxed. He hadn’t really realized how much he had missed that ease of comradery until he had lost it with the Suna Kunoichi. The friendship he had developed with her was still there naturally, but what he felt was missing was the unspoken attraction that had lingered between them. He had first noticed it himself, when it had disappeared upon her return from Suna after he had failed to show up on time for her attempt to ask him out. Although not bitter about where she now directed that attraction, he was mindful not to make the same mistake so said, “Studying these packets is going to be a real pain. How about we go get something to eat and discuss what the others have planned to get it done with.”
Fuyou smiled softly before teasingly saying, “Really, you’re suggesting that we buckle down and get to work.”
Shikamaru was surprise at how nervous he felt, but replied, “I know it’s out of character, but I doubt whatever has Karui in a good mood will save our bacons from her fury next time if we still haven’t finished finalizing the fourth exam by the next meeting. We can try to finish it now and help each other. Or do it alone later.”
Fuyou saw the benefit so said, “That sounds good.” She began heading for the door, but looked over her shoulder to say in an amused tone which was reflected in her violet eyes, “But if you wanted to go out on a date you just needed to say so.”
“This isn’t a date,” Shikamaru said quickly feeling flushed. “It’s just like the dinner meetings we had with the others.”
Fuyou frowned for a moment but noticing some color in his cheeks said emboldened, “Sure, but you’re still paying regardless.”
Shikamaru shook his head in amusement as she left the room and quickly followed after her. Deciding to treat her to Ichiraku, he was surprised as he felt a note of concern that Naruto might be there. Attributing it to the idea that should the blond man set his sights on the Ame kunoichi, he might find Fuyou exhibiting a similar change in attitude as Karui had undergone, he decided he would try to keep her out of Naruto’s orbit. However, quite aware of the pull that he exhibited he wondered if it might not be time to push his own mother into it.
****
Naruto was on his third bowl of his favorite food in the world, miso ramen. It was particularly good as it was made by Ayame, who was viewed by most of the village as his girlfriend. It was an accurate description, but he was sure most of the village would be shocked to know that she wasn’t the only one. A fact he was sure would scandalize the man he was currently dining with.
“Delicious as always, Ayame,” Iruka said, setting his bowl down and chuckled as Naruto handed his empty one to her for a refill. “I see Naruto agrees, although he’s been rather silent.”
Ayame smiled as her lover’s face disappeared behind the bowl so said in his defense, “Well since Kushina’s return, he only gets to eat ramen for lunch. This is one of the few times when he has been able to eat it for both lunch and dinner.”
Naruto put his bowl down long enough to say, “And that almost didn’t get to happen. The only reason she relented was because I told her it was kind of a tradition between Iruka-sensei and me.”
Ayame smiled knowingly as she had felt Kushina in a state of pleasure before Naruto had arrived so figured he had used another type of persuasion on her. She smiled when Naruto turned a shade of red after she said, “I imagine it took a bit of time on your knees to convince her to let you slip back into your old ramen habits.”
“More than a little,” Naruto said after regaining his composure. Hoping to steer the conversation away from his mother and how he had convinced her to let him gorge himself on his favorite food he said, “But I’m sure Iruka-sensei isn’t all that interested in my plight about being denied your ramen three times a day, Ayame.”
She smiled and caused the Chunin instructor to choke on the water he was drinking and her lover to nearly spit out the broth that he was slurping down when she said, “I suppose, although you do help yourself to more than just my ramen to make up for it, and a lot more than three times a day.”
Both the teacher and his student turned similar shades of red causing her to laugh as she headed to the back to gather up more ingredients as her current customers had arrived before the night time rush due to Naruto’s ravenous appetite. After a moment Iruka laughed as well especially as Naruto said, “Aw come on Ayame, you’re making me sound like a sex fiend.”
Ayame poked her head out to quickly reply, “If the shoe fits…”
She disappeared again as Naruto chuckled since he couldn’t exactly deny it with a straight face. Turning towards the bond that had saved him from the lonely hell of his childhood he said, “I’m sure you’re thinking that was too much information.”
Iruka smiled fondly at the student he felt might be his greatest success as a teacher to say, “Actually, I was thinking what a mature young man that you’ve become. The old you would have likely been bragging about your more adult exploits, not trying to downplay them. If anything, I get the feeling that Ayame is holding back.”
“You have no idea,” Naruto thought thinking of the many women he was bound to.
His teacher noticed the happy smile his student wore which warmed his heart remembering how infrequently the blonde had worn one as a child. Enjoying the opportunity to catch up, since both of them had been rather busy. Particularly Naruto, who seemed to always have had plans when Iruka had asked to spend time with him, he asked, “So have you given any thought to who you will be taking the Chunin Exams with?”
“I promised Moegi and Yakumo that I would take it with them,” Naruto answered while leaning over the counter to ladle out more ramen while Ayame was busy in back. “We’re going to begin practicing together in the next few weeks. It might still be a few more months before the Proctors finalize the Exam curriculum, but I’m sure there’ll be a portion that requires us to work as a cohesive unit.”
Iruka was a little surprised by the choice so asked, “What about that kunoichi on your team currently? Toka actually has years of battle experience, wouldn’t she be a better ally to take the exams with?”
Naruto nodded as he replied, “True, but I gave Moegi my word, and this would be Yakumo’s first exam so I would like to take it with her. Toka is going to ace any physical portion of the exam. If she is going to get tripped up by them then it would probably be during the written portion of it.”
“Because she didn’t have a formal education,” Iruka asked surprised.
“Hardly,” Naruto said with a dismissive wave, “She actually is pretty good at those stupid questions about if ninja A is so many meters off the ground, and ninja B is so many meters away and can cover so many meters in so many seconds then at what angle do you need to throw a kunai.”
Iruka sighed feeling a sense of personal defeat as his greatest success failed to see the benefit of such questions. Hoping to hammer the point home he said, “Those types of questions…”
“Are just the written form of what your body is doing on instinct,” Naruto said having been told as much by his Senju lover. Smiling at his former teacher, he said, “Toka says the same thing. She’s been helping me work on being able to answer them if they should appear on a testing portion of the exams.”
“Really,” Iruka said surprised, “Why do I get the feeling you have taken her lessons to heart, while all I used to hear was how a real ninja and a future Hokage didn’t need to know such things? Maybe I should ask her what her secrets for motivating such problem children are.”
Naruto had a hard time keeping a straight face as he imagined what Iruka’s reaction would be if he did learn how Toka would strip for him for every correct answer, and should he score high enough would reward him with a blowjob, which often led to much more. “Something tells me that her method wouldn’t go over well in a classroom setting,” Naruto replied amused.
Iruka arched an eyebrow as he had the feeling he often did when the blond was hiding something from him. Still, he noticed the improvement in Naruto and not just in terms of his strength, but in maturity as well. He looked over his shoulder as a few more customers arrived and saw Shikamaru with an Ame kunoichi who appeared to be bothered by something. He was about to welcome the Nara and his friend when the kunoichi said, “I…I’m sorry, but I need to go. Maybe another night Shikamaru. Take care.”
The woman quickly turned to leave looking somewhat pale. The Nara looked like he was going to follow her for a moment, but his gaze settled on Naruto. Iruka noticed a conflicted look appear as he contemplated the best course of action, but settled on staying as he took a seat next to his Academy instructor. Worried for the woman that had left, Naruto asked, “Is everything okay with her? She looked like she saw a ghost.”
Shikamaru looked over in surprise at Naruto hitting the nail on the head. “You’re more right then you know.” He reached for his pack of smokes, but Ayame coughed to attract his attention as she appeared from the back and noticed him pulling them out. She then indicated the no smoking sign hanging behind her causing the Nara to scowl, but he relented pushing them back in his pocket as he gave her his order. He then explained, “On the way here she spotted a girl that she said looked exactly like her deceased teammate. It was that sister of the kunoichi that looks like your Sexy Jutsu and was Jiraiya’s secret apprentice. She ran up to speak with her, but was disappointed as the girl…”
“Sage,” Naruto said interrupting.
“Huh?”
“Her name is Sage,” Naruto explained to Shikamaru, “Naruko’s sister is Sage.”
“I see,” Shikamaru said, “What do you know about her? Fuyou said that except for her orange hair which she even wears the same as her deceased teammate, they are exactly the same.”
Iruka could tell Shikamaru was studying Naruto for how he would react. Being an expert of when Naruto was hiding something himself, he easily picked up on his former student’s not being entirely upfront as he said, “That’s pretty strange. But, she is Naruko’s sister if that’s what you are…”
“Does that make her an Uzumaki?”
“Um… I guess,” Naruto replied to the question which made him feel like he was being interrogated, “But, it wasn’t like we ran a blood test on Naruko to determine if she shares blood with any of us.”
“What do you mean?” Shikamaru asked quickly as he continued to press, “She is either an Uzumaki or she isn’t. That Fuka woman at least shares traits with your mother who is a pure blooded Uzumaki. It’s rather strange you just accepting her, even though she looks like you.”
Naruto frowned as the Nara’s tone was becoming more aggressive. His reply grew a heated in turn as he replied, “My Clan isn’t like the Nara, or the others. We’re scattered to the winds so excuse us for not caring if a person has a gallon of blood or just a drop running in their veins. If fact, I don’t care if they don’t have any. If they want to be an Uzumaki and are willing to work towards the betterment of the villages we’d accept anyone.”
“You mean Konoha, don’t you?”
“I didn’t stutter,” Naruto said quickly, “I mean all the villages. That’s what the current Alliance is all about.”
“So you’re saying you would be fine if Sage was from Iwa or Kiri?”
‘Sure,” Naruto replied, “I’m not saying that I would ignore it if they were working in a capacity to undermine the governments of countries along their borders as has been the case. But, if they want to work with us to help foster peace between the countries and villages then of course we’d accept them.”
“Well said,” Iruka said proudly paying for his and Naruto’s meal, at least the bowls up until his student’s current one. Focusing on the Nara, he added, “Don’t forget Shikamaru, the First Hokage’s original dream was that Konoha would be home to all the ninja clans. Unfortunately, after the First Elemental Gathering where the Fire Daimyo was said to have explained what Lord First wanted to do, the other Daimyo extended offers to build villages in their lands. Many ambitious shinobi accepted these offers and gathered followers. Many villages failed to get off the ground, but due to the backing of the other Daimyo the villages in the five Major Elemental Countries prospered. You could say it was the fear that the other Daimyo had that the Land of Fire would corner the market on shinobi which caused the First Hokage’s dream to fail.”
“Sometimes I wonder about that,” Naruto said softly.
Iruka was caught a little off-guard by Naruto’s statement which he doubted the blond had meant to say aloud so asked, “What do you mean?”
Naruto laughed it off stating, “Oh I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just a little frustrated considering how little the Daimyo seemed to care about what Iwa was doing in Paradise City.” He could tell Iruka wasn’t exactly convinced but Naruto didn’t elaborate further since he didn’t think he could go into detail without exposing more of his secrets which he didn’t want to do in front of Shikamaru. Looking past Iruka from out of the corner of his eye as he slurped up the contents of his bowl to fill the lingering silence and to focus on the Nara, he was beginning to feel like Shikamaru was studying him in turn and aware of how bright he was, he didn’t want to invite more questions from him.
Iruka accepted his former student’s explanation although he was sure there was more to it. He stood placing a hand on Naruto’s shoulder to say, “You’ve become a grand shinobi and an even greater man. You should stop by my class when the next school year starts, I’m sure they would want to hear from the shinobi that many of them are hoping to emulate.”
Naruto grew bashful making Iruka proud to see that despite his success as a shinobi, it hadn’t gone to his head. “You’re pulling my leg, right? I’m still just a genin.”
“A genin who saved the village,” Iruka said proudly, “You truly have become a shinobi that deserves to be recognized for his accomplishments. It would do the incoming students some good to see that with perseverance and hard work even the worst students can make something of themselves.”
“Hey,” Naruto said annoyed as Iruka and Ayame began laughing. Seeing Iruka was about to leave he asked sadly, “Do you really need to go?”
“Yeah,” Iruka said replied wishing he could stay, “I need to head out early tomorrow. The school year might be over in Konoha, but it’s just beginning for others.”
“I don’t understand why you’d waste summer break on teaching the punks being kept under wraps in the Leaf Maximum Security prison,” Shikamaru said dismissively.
Iruka sighed before explaining, “It’s because teaching is my passion, and helping kids that others dismiss is a part of it. It’s easy to forget that although most villages try to keep genin safe, more than a few end up getting caught. They aren’t valuable enough to trade so rarely get sent to Grass’s infamous Blood Prison so Kusagakure can use them as bartering chips while they negotiate on behalf of the villages that sent them there for concessions or other prisoners. and…”
“Wat a second,” Naruto said confused, “If that is the case, why didn’t we send Yugito there when we captured her.”
“She was the host of the two tails we captured awhile back, correct?” Iruka asked. When Naruto nodded, he explained, “Had the negotiations dragged out, she would have been. As you may know, Hōzuki Castle is located at the center of a large lake that due to weather conditions make it nearly untraversable except for brief periods. There the prisoners captured by other villages are stored while Kusagakure acts as intermediaries. Generally, they do a good job of insuring that each village involved walks away happy. A jinchuriki would definitely have ended up there in most cases since their home village would pay a king’s ransom to get them returned. She would have been stored there to make sure Konoha didn’t back out of the deal or string Kumo on while continuing to ask for more. In other cases, a Shinobi that has wronged multiple villages or countries is stored there to make sure that the person in question is actually being punished, and not just on paper.”
Naruto nodded in understanding, but asked, “Then why would we hold onto any prisoner from another village? Why not just send everyone there?”
“Because Kusagakure isn’t doing it for free,” Iruka said sadly, “They get paid for jailing them, and receive a piece of whatever deal is struck. Therefore, they are only going to hold onto prisoners that they think they can get something for. Sadly, a shinobi village more often than not isn’t going to negotiate for just any shinobi because if they did then some villages might begin kidnapping ninja from rival villages just to collect ransoms. Therefore a lot of genin, chunin, and even jounin waste away in our prison system since we can’t just release them to strengthen villages that we aren’t on friendly terms with. Therefore, most are held on well past their prime years are behind them and when they are released have very few skills to speak of, even their shinobi skills will likely be out of date from missing out on years of improvement. That’s why I hold classes at the prison during the summer to help them develop skills they can fall back on; otherwise most become bandits or missing-nin ending up right back in prison.”
“It’s a waste of time,” Shikamaru said after a moment, “How many of the ones released have ever thanked you and not ended up as criminals?”
Iruka smiled as he simply said, “Well it’s my time to waste.” Focusing on Naruto, who had his attention on his next bowl, he added, “Besides, it only takes reaching one to make it all worthwhile. You two take care. Thank you for the food Ayame.”
“You’re welcome,” Ayame said graciously giving him a small bow.
“Next time I’ll treat you, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said energetically despite all the ramen weighing him down.
Iruka chuckled as he replied, “Well, then I’ll have to make sure to eat my fill to try and recoup some of the lost revenue from all the times that I treated you.” Iruka smiled as he waved to his students receiving an energetic wave from Naruto while the Nara’s was rather lackadaisical. Feeling confident the future was in good hands, he looked forward to helping those hurting from how the shinobi system currently was. After all, even though for the most part Shikamaru was correct in most of those he had tried to reach were too bitter to try and better themselves so quickly fell into destructive patterns while blaming the system, it only took one success to make the effort worthwhile.
*****
Shikamaru watched Iruka go, and although he doubted the teacher’s actions would change anyone being held in the prison, he could understand why it was Naruto gave him faith that it was possible. After all, despite having every reason to be as bitter as the prisoners, Naruto rose above it all and channeled his energy into bettering himself and the village. Something which inspired those around him and seemed to be spreading to the other villages as well. Naruto stood up and leaned over the counter to ask his girlfriend, “Are you going to stop by tonight?”
“We’ll see,” Ayame said happily, “I’m sure you’ll be well entertained in any case.”
Shikamaru watched Naruto pout playfully and taking advantage of the lack of other customers at the moment interjected himself, “By this I’m assuming you mean the other women that he is seeing.”
“W…what…”
Shikamaru stopped Naruto’s sputtered denial before it started by sternly saying, “Please don’t insult my intelligence. I’ve been aware that you’ve been starting relationships with kunoichi both here and abroad for years.”
For a moment Naruto looked like he was going to try to deny it still, but after a moment he sat back down. Shikamaru admitted he was surprised Naruto wouldn’t continue to deny it having figured the last thing the blond wanted was people figuring out the truth about the women around him. However, he suspected one of the reasons for the quick surrender was a result of the blond not wanting to outright lie to his friends. After all, in most cases he could simply let people draw their own conclusions without lying by relying on the fact that most people did not have a harem of women waiting for them at home.
“How long have you known?”
“I figured something was up around the time Temari lost interest in me. She came back from the trip just before doing so in a much better mood then when she left and not bitter about my blowing her off,” Shikamaru answered. “Plus I’ve noticed Ino’s development over the years. I didn’t really begin to realize you were the cause until the tension that existed between you two around the time the Training Force was assembled.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
Shikamaru shrugged as he answered, “Why would I? Honestly, at first I was glad because you got those troublesome women off my back.”
“Alright,” Naruto said crossing his arms and studying the Nara, “Why bring it up now?”
Shikamaru found himself swallowing heavily as he did get the sense that Naruto while outwardly appeared calm was gauging the threat that he might present to the women tied to him. He didn’t necessarily think that his concern at how Naruto would react stemmed from being physically harmed, but he could tell that the blond was weighing options as to how to respond. Hoping to put him at ease, the Nara said, “Because, there was another troublesome woman I thought I would be happy about having her off my back, but now that she is… I find I want her to go back to how she was. You have a track record of making people get over the pain in their hearts and to return stronger from it. That’s why I want you to work your magic on my mother.”
Naruto looked genuinely surprised at Shikamaru’s request. He looked over at Ayame, who gave him an amused smile before shrugging. When the blond’s gaze refocused on the Nara, he asked, “Are you aware of how exactly I’ve gone about it?”
“I have an idea,” Shikamaru answered, “and truthfully, all I want to be left with is that extremely vague idea. But, I’m desperate here. She’s listless and Tsunade’s only given her a month to shape up or be removed as the Head of the Nara. I’m afraid if that happens then even the small effort she puts into interacting with the outside world will evaporate.”
Naruto studied Shikamaru for a moment and could see that he was at his wits end in how to deal with Yoshino. He knew a little about the woman remembering her from the times that she had picked her son up from the Academy. But, outside of that he had no interactions with her. He was aware that Tsunade had made her decree that Yoshino get her act together or be removed from the Clan council and as head of the Nara to elicit some sort of reaction. She had been disappointed by the response that she got primarily as Tsunade had been of the opinion that Shikamaru had been the one responsible for the slight improvement in her reports. There were only two weeks remaining on the month deadline, but Tsunade hadn’t been impressed so was considering following through on her threat. Naruto decided he would ask his lover to give the Nara woman an extension so he could find some sort of solution. Yet not willing to make a promise he couldn’t keep, Naruto stood again and stated, “I’ll see what I can do?”
“Thanks, I’ll owe you one.”
Naruto smiled while leaving as he said, “Don’t worry about it.”
Shikamaru watched the Uzumaki exit the stand before turning back to his meal. A part of him felt guilty about asking the blond to help his mother get over the death of his father. But, a part of him feared that if nothing was done, sooner or later his mom would be reunited with him, either through just not having a will to live, or arranging the reunion herself.
****
Naruto drank a cup of sake and sighed as it warmed him from the inside out as he and the women with him rested on the last leg of their journey to Kumo. His cup was refilled by Temari as she sat by his side. The hand not holding his sake cup was gently rubbing Karui’s backside as she pressed her body into his side. Arrayed before them on a low serving table was a banquet of food as they ate at a small inn located just inside the Land of Lightning’s border. Sitting on the opposite side of the table was Yoruichi and Soifon.
Naruto smiled as piled before Yoruichi were the various dishes that she had finished, a mountain of dishware that nearly rivaled the one before him. She was sitting cross-legged on the pillow as she drank her sake directly from the small bottle. Despite the relaxed atmosphere Soifon was kneeling on her pillow almost ramrod straight with her hands resting on her knees as if waiting for a command.
Naruto enjoyed the scene as Yoruichi took another swig of her bottle before telling the petite woman, “Soifon stop being so tense and relax.”
“Yes, Lady Yoruichi,” Soifon replied as if receiving a command from a superior officer. However, her following through was the tension of her shoulders relaxing slightly.
Yoruichi sighed in annoyance, but instead took another sip of her sake. Naruto took a moment to study the kunoichi since she, unlike him and the others who were dressed in bath robes having made use of the Inn’s extensive baths, was wearing the clothes that she did when traveling. The clothes were obviously meant to imitate the bodysuit of the dark-skinned woman sitting next to her, although her pants were baggy and loose. Her hair was cut short, but it appeared that she was growing a pair of ponytails from the back which were just beginning to meet her shoulders. She was sporting a small blush which he attributed partly to her embarrassment at how Karui was rubbing her hand over his exposed chest. But he felt most was due to Yoruichi’s presence as the small robe did little to protect her modesty. He smiled as Yoruichi’s comment to relax might have been as much for Soifon to stop sitting so stiffly as so she could disrobe since she more often than not preferred to be naked whenever possible.
Soifon’s gray eyed gaze tracked Karui’s hand as it began to move down his body. Naruto had a good idea of what the Kumo-nin was going to grab, and from the way Soifon’s cheeks grew darker, he suspected she had a good idea as well. A color which deepened as Karui said, “Now that we have gotten dinner out of the way. I’m in the mood for a little lovin.”
Naruto sat straighter as her hand found his manhood and she began to stroke his flaccid penis. It didn’t remain that way long especially as Temari’s tongue began probing his ear.
Yoruichi threw her robe off as she proclaimed, “Now it’s time to get this party really started. How about it, Soifon?”
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Soifon said collecting the dishes as Yoruichi moved around the table.
Yoruichi frowned but then shrugged as she made her way around the table to join the other two kunoichi in pleasuring their lover. Naruto while making out with Karui, watched Soifon carry the dishes out of the common area of the suite they had rented. She carried them into the hall where she set them down and then closed the door behind her. He knew she would return later at night as she was sharing a room with Yoruichi, although he doubted the purple-haired kunoichi would be joining her in it. He knew that while Soifon accepted that Yoruichi and he were together, a part of her was rather jealous of him as well. Particularly, as a wall seemed to exist between her and the woman that she admired which obviously did not exist between him and the dark-skinned woman. He had discussed with the Bijuu about how to bring that wall down, but knew she was rather nervous revealing her secret to the young woman.
But, he focused on his current circumstances as the Bijuu’s mouth wrapped around his pole while Karui and Temari guided him to lie on his back. Temari then muscled her way into a three way kiss. But, Karui pulled back allowing the Suna kunoichi to seal her lips to Naruto’s as they deepened their kiss. Karui then undid the knot holding Naruto’s robe closed and began kissing down his body. She watched the woman that she had learned was the Tailed Beast that was once housed within Yugito run her tongue from the base of Naruto’s dick to the tip. Yoruichi smiled at the amber eyed woman before swallowing his manhood and began slurping on it loudly.
Karui paused for a moment as the dark-skinned Bijuu repeated the action. A part of her in that moment understood why she was embracing the new life laid out before her. She would have let out a childish giggle for having such an epiphany from watching a woman licking a man’s cock, but instead settled for a moan as Naruto reached up between her legs and buried his middle finger inside her. She closed her eyes to bask in the feeling as her lover’s digit tickled her insides pleasantly.
She also further reflected on the understanding that she had achieved due to Yoruichi’s licking of Naruto’s tasty pole. Karui had been rather surprised at her own rather quick acceptance of joining not only Naruto’s ambition, but of the idea that she had become a part of a family. But, watching a Bijuu that before coming to terms with Yugito had been as much a danger to Kumo as it had to its enemies, eagerly giving pleasure to a man was all the proof Karui had needed that there was something special about Naruto. After all, she had learned that Rangiku was the one-tail, and that she also counted herself among the blond man’s lovers along with several other Bijuu. Rangiku had even jokingly called Naruto’s cock a Bijuu tamer when she had joined Samui and her later on during the night after her joining the Family.
She had been surprised at how open and honest the One-tail had been. But seeing Yoruichi with Soifon, who apparently knew the secret of their relationship with Naruto, but not that some of the women she was working with were Bijuu and as a result a wall seemed to exist between them. Karui realized that the reason they were being open with her was because Naruto had chosen her as a lover and they trusted in his judgment. This led Karui to a startling realization and one which Yoruichi had confirmed in one of the few moments during the trip where Soifon had not been hovering around, which had been that the Bijuu felt no love for Kumogakure. As far as the Bijuu was concerned it was still the place which had imprisoned her for over a century. She had also informed her that if she hadn’t been freed of Yugito and had someday been sealed in someone else then if they didn’t come to an accords she’d attempt to free herself.
It was a rather disquieting thing to hear, and one that made her respect her Sensei Bee all the more. It also highlighted for her the importance of being a positive force in Kumogakure to fulfill the Family’s ambitions. She felt a warm feeling inside her, which she attributed to the belief that Naruto had expressed in her.
But, she felt it could also be from the pleasure building inside her from Naruto’s fingering of her snatch. Focusing again on the here and now, she said, “Mmm, do you mind if I have a lick?”
Yoruichi smiled as she answered, “Not at all.”
Karui leaned in and ran her tongue from the base up to the tip and then back down. Naruto groaned after her tongue joined in with the Bijuu’s in painting his cock with their saliva although it was muffled due to Temari’s mouth covering his. Karui after several moments reached the tip and began to flick it with her tongue. Yoruichi anticipating what she was going to do, began to suck on one of his testicles. Karui then sealed her lips around his cockhead and began to swirl her tongue around it. Naruto groaned again, but this time it sounded even more muffled. It was followed by a soft moan from Temari leading Karui to believe that the blonde Suna kunoichi was now having her pussy kissed by Naruto.
Karui focused on her own task as she began bobbing her head while she tried to swallow as much of his dick as she could. She gagged several times, and wondered how it was that the Hokage could completely force the large piece of meat down her throat. She found a steady rhythm which she paused every now and then in order to gobble down more of his length until her eyes began to water. She’d then pull off to catch her breath allowing Yoruichi a chance to do the same as they competed to see who could swallow more.
When Yoruichi let his manhood go, Karui said, “I need to have this in me.”
“Don’t let me get in your way,” Yoruichi said moving back before sitting on the serving table. She then began to rub her pussy before dipping her middle finger inside her.
Karui let out a small moan as Naruto’s finger slipped free of her, but she let out a much louder one as she replaced it with his dick. Resting her hands on his knees as she faced away from him, she raised her hips until just before he slipped free of her pussy before bringing her hips back down. As she began to do so steadily, her moans mixed in with Temari’s as Naruto’s tongue worked her into a similar pleasurable stupor.
Karui’s gaze zeroed in on Yoruichi’s pussy and she felt a hunger which hadn’t existed before her inclusion in the Family. But, having found Samui’s flavor which she had tasted both from the source as well as from when her teammate’s essence was coating the cock that they now shared. She found she was eager to explore this new avenue to her sexual tastes. She began to do so by leaning forward in order to bring her face before Yoruichi’s drenched lower lips and dived in when she removed her finger from her quim. The Bijuu moaned as Karui began to lap at the juices coating the purple-haired woman silken folds, and then pushed her tongue inside so she could begin to collect more.
Naruto’s hands gripped Temari’s tits while she ground her muff against his mouth. He breathed in her intoxicating sent while straining to move his hips to stir up Karui’s honeypot. But it proved to be difficult due to most of the red-head’s weight was holding down his knees. He was buried deep inside her, but she wasn’t moving much which he couldn’t see was due to her leaning so far forward to enjoy Yoruichi’s snatch. Eager to feel her gliding along his cock, he focused his energies on bringing Temari to climax. Having brought her to the edge some time before and was where he had let her linger, he sent her over by pressing his tongue on her clit and pinching and rolling her nipples between his thumb and index fingers. She cried out in delight as her body offered up more of her juices to reward him for a job well done.
Naruto took the time to lap it up before Temari fell to the side to catch her breath. Naruto took the opportunity to sit up and get to his knees. His movement caused his cock to slip free of the sheath that was Karui’s pussy. She whimpered in loss, but it only lasted a moment before Naruto roughly slammed back inside her. She cried out as his cock pressed on her womb. Naruto reached forward to angle her face back towards him and pulled her into a kiss. Both of them moaned as they tasted the other woman that coated their lips and tongues.
She looked forward again as Naruto began pumping his length inside her. She then began to lower her face back down to drink in more of Yoruichi’s heady flavor, but the Bijuu gripped her face and pulled her towards her. Karui moved on all fours while Naruto followed behind as the Bijuu urged her forward until she was on top of the table with her. Karui then lowered her lips to the golden eyed woman’s. They kissed heatedly while Naruto continued to drill his cock inside the red-head.
Yoruichi let out a pleased shout when Naruto slipped free of Karui’s tight cunt to quickly bury his manhood inside her. Karui wasn’t left without though as the Bijuu reached between them to begin rubbing her mound. Their tongues continued to dance as Karui began mirroring the Bijuu’s actions by petting the woman’s cunt while Naruto continued to pound it. It helped Yoruichi deal with the loss when he once more switched to Karui, who broke the kiss to raise her head and cry out in joy at his return. Yoruichi used the moment to latch onto one of the woman’s nipples as they bounced before her due to Naruto’s vigorous pounding.
Yoruichi’s mouth let go of Karui’s tit when Naruto once more slipped into her, causing her to arch her head back as her moans increased. This presented an opening to the red-head who promptly began to kiss on her collarbone.
After several strokes Naruto was back inside her causing Karui to rise up again. When she fell forward she rested her hands on Yoruichi’s breasts which she began to squeeze and fondle. Yoruichi mirrored her actions causing both women’s moans to grow as Naruto switched between them quicker and quicker as they neared their finish. Karui moaned loudly when Yoruichi squeezed down on her fun pillows as she climaxed after Naruto buried his pole inside to the hilt. A moment later, Karui screamed in release when Naruto buried himself back inside her.
Naruto basked in the feeling of Karui’s inner muscles coiling around him as he fought to stave off his own release. But, it proved not to be an issue for long as he was pulled out of her and then found himself spun and pushed back so that he was lying on the serving table. Temari smiled at him hungrily before climbing atop of him and quickly slammed herself down on his rod.
They both groaned as Temari didn’t mess around and began to ride his cock wildly. Naruko groaned as he strained to keep from blowing his wad while his Suna lover bounced on his dick and massaged her breasts. Having already been near the end of his rope, it wasn’t long before even his practiced ability to stave off his orgasms failed. He was pleased to see that even as he released his seed, he had managed to hold out long enough for her to achieve her orgasm. Then to his surprise after a few spurts painted her womb she slipped off of him and began jerking him off so that his seed splattered on his stomach.
He looked at Temari curiously since he was not used to his cum seemingly going to waste as it were. His Suna lover seemed to know what he was thinking as she gave him a smirk before she made him moan by swirling her tongue around his sensitive head. He closed his eyes to bask in the warm, wet feeling engulfing his dick as she swallowed him.
He opened them again when he felt tongues licking his stomach and found that Karui and Yoruichi had recovered. The two women were on either side of him as they continued to lick up his seed. Due to his position on the serving table he felt a bit like a platter which the women were dining from. Temari’s eyes smiled at him while she sucked his cock as she again likely had a sense of what he was thinking. She let him slip loose of her lips and stroking his length said, “I don’t know about you ladies. But I’m finding that the more I enjoy this meal. The hungrier for more I seem to get.”
Yoruichi had pulled Karui into a sloppy kiss where they had passed his collected cum between them. She smiled as she replied, “Well this is the perfect venue to eat our fill.” He was then treated to the sight of the three women running their tongues over his manhood causing him to groan and bask in how good it was to be him.
*****
Kurenai sat in a hot-spring located in Konoha’s bathing district. She felt a little strange sitting in it, not because she wasn’t using the ones located on Kiyomi’s property which she found she now preferred since becoming Naruto’s lover. But her feelings stemmed from the reason she wasn’t enjoying them at the moment, namely to begin the process which would likely see another woman joining the Family.
Waiting for the target to arrive, she spent the time recalling the night Naruto had come home and informed the women of the Hidden Eddy Inn of Shikamaru’s request. She had been rather shocked to learn that a part of the reason Shikamaru had approached him was because he had noticed the change in her. Kurenai couldn’t deny that since taking Naruto as a lover, she had become more upbeat and energetic. She learned a part of it was likely due to the deaging process, but also it felt like she was always basking under a warm sun lately. She suspected it was that feeling which was what caused the women bound to Naruto to be willing to share him. After all, she felt grateful to Yuugao and the others for including her in their family, which was why she had been the one to suggest the strategy they were going to apply to draw Yoshino in.
Kurenai had been rather surprised at her joining in with the other women as they had pitched ideas. But, she suspected that it was because with all the women already attached to him, and all the tools that he had developed to seduce them, he had focused in on what to her had been the most important issue to seducing the Nara. Which was that he had never really interacted with Yoshino on any kind of personal level. That to the red-eyed jounin had all but proven what a unique young man Naruto was. It highlighted for her that what was important to Naruto was the relationship he developed with the women bound to him.
Speaking of which, Kurenai wasn’t sure what she was looking for from the one that now existed between her and the blond. After all, there was still a lot of things that she needed to process so had opted that for the moment she just wanted to enjoy the fantastic sex life that she now had. But, in time she knew that she may want more, and couldn’t be sure what form that desire would take. Particularly, in regards to being a mother again. After all, she had failed to maintain her vow that she didn’t deserve to be happy. She was surprised that she didn’t feel guilty about it, but suspected it was because being around women like Tsunade and Yuugao as they enjoyed their relationships with Naruto had helped to show her how foolish such a desire was.
Still, while aware of Naruto’s own lack of interest in having children, she couldn’t say that she shared it, at least not anymore. She felt a wave of sadness as she thought of her lost child, who for her tombstone had settled on the name Mirai. She was aware that Naruto’s chakra could likely return her child and even husband to life. She had remembered Naruto’s hesitance when he had told her of the ability. He had after all, quickly explained that he hadn’t used it to bring his mother back as she had technically been alive inside him. It was a somewhat bitter pill for Kurenai to swallow that at the very least her new lover could return her child to her. Yet, believed it wasn’t his place to decide who gets to live and who dies.
She supposed the one thing that was preventing that bitterness from growing inside her was the knowledge that Naruto wasn’t purposefully using it to benefit himself. After all, she was sure there were people he would love to see returned to the world of the living. She did smile as she imagined how awkward it would be if he returned his father, since she had heard Kushina gossiping with Ino about who was the better lover. She hadn’t been too surprised when the red-head had shown a motherly pride as she explained how Naruto came out ahead in almost every category. It was an assessment that she had to share, and one that judging from the faces of the other women who had taken lovers before him was one they shared as well. Kurenai imagined that if Naruto did use his ability to return the men some of his lovers had lost, Kushina wouldn’t be the only one telling them how they failed to compare to Naruto.
Kurenai didn’t know if that would be her, even though she did admit Naruto was the better lover in bed. But Asuma had been her one true love for so long that she didn’t know if she wanted that feeling replaced. After all, she would admit that a part of her did feel like a cradle robber due to the age difference between them. A feeling she could imagine had been much greater for Tsunade and Koharu. Although she doubted either of them felt it any longer, particularly since they had been made younger.
Kurenai knew it was something which was happening to her as well although at a more measured pace. She knew it, along with the immortality she was given, would end if she decided to have another child. And having outlived one. She could say that she would gladly do so if she decided to have another, especially since Kiyomi would refuse to bestow the gift to said child. She imagined that if Naruto pressed hard enough he could get her to relent, but she doubted Naruto would do so. Particularly since it was a gift Kiyomi had given to the women of the Family, and the rules tied to that gift were based on her beliefs.
Kiyomi could understand the logic behind them, but she suspected that what was at the heart of why was how the Sage of the Six Paths had essentially sacrificed his immortality to create the Bijuu. As such, engraved in the Bijuu’s consciousness was the belief that such a price should be paid to bring about a new life for an immortal. Kurenai could even understand why Naruto would be the exception for the rule since his life was no longer just his own. In many ways it belonged to each of the women that made up the Family, and if one of them decided to give up their immortality to have a child. Then Naruto would have to shoulder the burden. She suspected it was why most of the women didn’t seem inclined to have one. Kurenai wondered if in time her feelings for Naruto would grow to the point where being with him was worth more than trying again to be a mother.
She heard Ino’s voice so prepared to play her part as a good example of why being a mother and wife could become a hollow existence as well appeared with the blonde as they exited the bathhouse.
“Kurenai,” Ino said chipperly as she appeared with Yoshino. “I’m glad to see you out and about.”
“It’s good to be so,” Kurenai said amused while the two women slipped into the water. “Although to be honest, I’m rather glad the baths seem to be empty. I suppose I am still rather prone to try and avoid the company of others.”
“Considering what you’ve lost it is understandable,” Yoshino said sympathetically. “I, myself would have preferred to have just gone home after today’s council meeting, but was harangued into coming here.”
“Ah come on Yoshino,” Ino said with a pout, “You need to get out more. There will be plenty of time for lying about doing nothing when you’re dead.”
“Ino, I do not need to be lectured by you again, especially since you got your way already,” Yoshino said sternly. “How I spend my time when not attending the Council Meetings is none of your concern.”
“But it is your son’s,” Ino said undeterred, “And he’s worried about you, which makes it my concern too.”
“Well I’ll thank you both to mind your own business,” Yoshino said quickly with a hint of anger entering her tone.
Ino sighed but let the matter drop figuring that pushing her any further would cause the Nara to leave. Still, it didn’t stop her from taking a small potshot at the woman as she turned her attention to Kurenai. “Speaking of women that needed to get out more, it’s good to see you are at least willing to take the chance of running into people not just living at our home Kurenai.”
Kurenai smiled since she knew Ino was teasing her as well as prodding Yoshino further. She saw that it worked as the Nara bristled slightly. She had to marvel at the Yamanaka’s dedication to Naruto since the woman had eagerly joined in with the plotting of how to bring Yoshino and her lover together. In fact, once Kurenai had suggested her idea it had been Ino that had fleshed it out, and then assigned the roles to the other women that would help. Naruto had needed to leave on his mission to escort a shipment back to Kumo along with Karui and Yoruichi. Samui had opted to stay behind since Ino had requested it because she wanted a Kumo-nin present at least for the first stage. Still, Naruto had apparently been confident to leave Ino in charge of the matter, and Kurenai guessed that she shouldn’t have been surprised since the Yamanaka had a hand in a good number of the women that had joined his Family. Still, Kurenai had been rather surprised to learn that Ino had just been about to set her sights on her, but had been beaten to it by Yuugao. Despite all the future concerns, she was grateful to the women that had offered her a spot among them so felt it was only right to do the same for Yoshino.
“I suppose you are planning to take credit for my willingness to rejoin the world of the living,” Kurenai said giving the blonde a wide smile.
“Hardly,” Ino said while mirroring it, “I know that honor belongs to Yuugao for speaking with the management on your behalf. I can honestly say I think we were all shocked at just what kind of show you put on though.” Ino’s smile turned slightly lecherous as she asked, “Any chance we’ll get an encore?”
Kurenai blushed as she recalled being at the center of a Naruto clone gangbang. “I don’t know about that,” she answered, “I did lose my head a bit that night. I think any future performances will be rather tame in comparison. But you all were right; it did help me to remember that life was going on around me.”
Yoshino had the sense that Ino had arranged the little trip just so she could conveniently be present for her conversation with Kurenai. She was about to state as much when Ino surprised her as she said, “Dammit, speaking of life going on. I promised my mom that I’d watch the shop for her since Aeris had the day off. I better get going.”
Ino quickly pulled herself out of the water and ran naked back to the bathhouse. Yoshino shook her head, but a part of her marveled at what a beauty the woman had turned into, and how lucky she was to have her whole life ahead of her. It made Yoshino feel rather wistful which was quickly replaced with depression as she recalled how Shikamaru was also at the age where he didn’t need to rely on her. Moreover, while she had truly enjoyed her life, she admitted there was now a sense that her best days were behind her.
She supposed what Ino had wanted her to take away from the conversation was that life needed to be lived for it to be determined if that was the case. But, she felt it wasn’t true in her case. She had once had the potential to be a kunoichi along the same lines of Tsunade or even Tsume, but had opted to instead focus on being a mother and wife. Her husband had never pressured her, as he hadn’t needed to since it was readily assumed by most that would be the case. She just hadn’t felt a need to break against tradition, after all, she could easily imagine that if she had left on a long term mission she’d come how to find her son and husband near death as they would barely be able to cook for themselves.
Therefore, after her husband’s death and Shikamaru proving in the months after that he didn’t need her to function. Yoshino had found herself less and less interested in the world at large. She felt she was too old to start over in love, not that there were a lot of men interested in settling down with a widowed woman of her age, and having retired as a chunin felt trying to pick up there was a waste of time. Something that also translated into the lack of dedication that she displayed in being the Clan Head of the Nara. In truth, she just felt completely disconnected from the world so found expending any effort to be a part of it too troublesome.
Her gaze drifted over towards Kurenai, who with Ino gone seemed content to let the silence between them linger. She easily could spot the change in the woman particularly since before when she had seen her in the cemetery as they mourned their lost loves; she had appeared to have a similar outlook as her. It was often said by many kunoichi that marriage was in many ways similar as to dying. Yoshino had never taken the saying too seriously, seeing it as a way for women to justify their refusing to settle down. The reality of the statement became all too apparent once she had lost her husband, and judging from Kurenai’s reaction to losing hers, she guessed that it didn’t matter how long after getting married the loss happened for a woman to feel the same. She suspected had Kurenai’s daughter survived the woman would have found it easier to carry on as she would have focused on raising her child, but losing both had doomed her in much the same way Yoshino had felt cursed to have outlived her husband.
Yet, she didn’t see any sign of that half-dead woman now in Kurenai. In fact as she sat there Yoshino would go so far as to say she looked radiant. She suspected that it might have been because Kurenai was young enough and beautiful enough to start over. After all, it was sad to say that in the Shinobi Villages love while important could be described as almost secondary to most second marriages. This was because in villages like Konoha there were a surplus of widows, and very few unattached men were willing to take on a wife with a previous marriage on her record when they could have one without to start their own families. This was primarily due to most women retiring after having a child so as to not leave an orphan behind. There were situations where this system didn’t protect the child in question such as the Kyuubi attack where nearly every shinobi and reservist of a certain age had been called up to deal with it. This had resulted in lots of orphans being created.
But with many incidents since then taking place far away from the village. Konoha had quickly once more found itself with a growing problem of widows outpacing the number of men available or willing to be with them. That didn’t necessarily translate into a lack of a healthy sex life, since the nightlife of Konoha could easily supply that in terms of men looking to seduce a lonely woman. But, Yoshino was not interested in a one night stand. She wanted to be fulfilled like she had been, but sadly saw little chance of that happening.
She supposed she might be giving up before she even began, since Tsunade proved that a woman could rise to prominence at a late age. But, truthfully she had traded on her past achievements to become Hokage, and while many had recognized Yoshino’s abilities in analyzing data to come up with probable scenarios leading to some calling her the Oracle as at times she seemed capable of predicting the future. It had been so long since she had actually used that particular skill set, she doubted it even worked anymore. The world had changed too much from the one she knew, and in truth it required someone willing to connect with it to such a degree that she didn’t even care to try.
Yet despite her thoughts on the matter, she couldn’t help wondering what it was that had changed in Kurenai to give her such a glow. It filled her with a sense of curiosity which had been such a key component to her Oracle skills, and was something that she hadn’t felt in ages. Therefore, she couldn’t help asking, “Kurenai, about that place you and Ino were speaking of. How exactly did it help you pick up the pieces?”
Kurenai grimaced as she looked around to insure they were still alone. Leaning in conspiratorially she replied, “Ino really shouldn’t have said anything about it, and I guess I should have reminded her of that instead of responding as I did.”
Yoshino frowned before asking, “So you can’t tell me about it?”
“I’m sorry,” Kurenai said quickly and sincerely. “A part of the reason though is because I doubt you would believe me even if I did. But well, if you really want to know… speak with the Lady Kiyomi.”
“If it is so secretive will she not just brush me off as well?”
“Tell her I sent you,” Kurenai said pulling herself out of the water, “It should at least convince her to give you a chance to see it for yourself.”
Yoshino frowned as she watched the woman leave unsure what it was she would find if she did as instructed. Yet, she also found herself growing more and more curious about it as well, particularly since if she could attribute Kurenai’s recovery to it, couldn’t help but wonder if it might not have been responsible for the growth she had seen in Ino as well. After all, if there had been a kunoichi that Yoshino imagined would have embraced the idea that it was a kunoichi’s job to find a good looking and strong man to settle down with to raise children, she would have pegged Ino as it. Yet the formerly boy crazy girl had matured into a stunningly beautiful woman that had to beat suitors away with a stick and often told them her heart was already spoken for. She then would make it sound like she was speaking of the village, but Yoshino found it hard to believe that it was just her duties as a counselor that made the Yamanaka so passionate. Figuring she would see for herself, Yoshino pulled herself out of the water to head home as it had grown rather late so figured it could wait a few days before following up.
*****
Soifon headed out into the woods as it was close to the time Naruto had instructed her to meet him. They were heading back to Konoha and were still a few days out after remaining in the Hidden Cloud village for close to a week. She suspected that the reason for the delay in the return was because Naruto had helped the newest kunoichi tied to him move into the Hidden Thunder Inn. She felt her cheeks heat up as she imagined how the blond and red-head had likely broken in her new living quarters. She felt a pang of jealousy as Yoruichi had been with them, and even though she had been invited to the welcoming party being held for Karui as well. She had refused to go since she imagined an orgy would likely take place. When they had left the following morning with another blonde replacing Karui, and who had introduced herself as Yugito, it wasn’t hard to imagine that she had been right about how they spent their evening.
Strangely enough Soifon found that she wasn’t jealous of Naruto as much as the other women surrounding Yoruichi lately. She guessed her feelings stemmed from her wanting to be able to be as close to her idol as they appeared to be. It had led her to wonder if the wall that existed between her and the dark-skinned woman would come down if she gave herself to Naruto. After all it was apparent that Karui had been a new induction to the man’s growing Harem and so she figured she couldn’t have interacted with Yoruichi nearly as much as she had. Yet, the golden eyed woman had seemed more at ease around the red-head then her. It was something which stung Soifon to no end.
As a result, she had acted coldly towards Yoruichi for the rest of the trip back to Kumo after the mini-orgy between her, Naruto, Karui, and Temari. She had the small and bitter satisfaction of her actions at least appearing to bother the dark-skinned woman. Still, when Yoruichi had appeared to be content to let that be the new norm between them, she had nearly relented. But, instead she had doubled down due to her stubbornness something she figured might cause the rift between her and Yoruichi to grow as she knew the dark-skinned woman could be just as pig-headed.
Therefore it had been a rather difficult trip back for Soifon particularly as there seemed to exist a special bond between Yugito and Yoruichi. It had earned the Kumo-nin Soifon’s ire as well. This was why it annoyed her that the woman didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
Naruto and Temari though had made the trip easier for Soifon since they had prevented her from just stewing. Of course, the nights could have been hard for her since she was left alone with her thoughts, but as almost every one of them was filled with the pleased cries of the other women. She tended to be too busy taking care of the desires that hearing them filled her with.
That was why she was rather surprised Naruto had sought her out as they neared an inn located in Hot-Water Country and told her to meet him in the woods after dark. She had asked why, since a part of her felt he was going to make a pass at her. But, was pleased when Naruto told her that she felt it was time for the wall to come down between Yoruichi and her.
Following the directions that she had been given, she landed in a clearing and felt annoyed as she saw no one waiting for her. Wondering if she was being tricked she was about to turn back but heard something large move in the forest in front of her. “Naruto…” she called out cautiously.
However, instead of receiving an answer two large golden eyes appeared in the darkness. Soifon was frozen in fear as following behind the eyes as they appeared from the clearing edge was the head and body of the two-tailed cat. Granted, she had never seen it in person before, but there had existed enough drawings and descriptions of it to make it instantly recognizable. The Bijuu walked out of the forest its eyes locked squarely on her, and as it approached slowly Soifon began to take a step back.
As her foot landed behind her, Soifon immediately saw something appear in the Bijuu’s eyes. Although, hard to read she had the feeling that it was disappointment. While still afraid, for some reason that she couldn’t explain the thought of disappointing the Bijuu seemed to fill her with a feeling of dissatisfaction in herself. It left her feeling like she was on the verge of failing a test. When the Bijuu emerged fully from the woods, it came to a stop as if waiting to see how she would respond. Believing now that she was being tested, she began to think more clearly.
She immediately realized it made a certain amount of sense for the two-tails to be before her, since the host of the Bijuu was traveling with them. But, she didn’t understand what Naruto had hoped to gain by having the woman scare her half to death, or how it would clear the air between Yoruichi and her. Yet, then Soifon’s eyes grew wide as she thought about how Yugito and Yoruichi had a unique bond, and what it potentially meant. She didn’t understand how such a thing could be possible since from her understanding the jinchuriki would die if the Bijuu was separated from it. Yet, studying the Bijuu’s golden eyes she suddenly was quite sure that somehow such a thing had become possible.
“Lady Yoruichi,” she said causing the Bijuu to gasp and even take a step back as Soifon took one forward.
It was Soifon’s turn to look disappointed at the Bijuu’s reaction, which was also heard in Naruto’s voice as he said from behind her. “It’s rather unfair of you to react in a similar manner as how you would have expected her to if she failed your test.”
Soifon spun on her heel and as she typically did instantly leapt to Yoruichi’s defense as she said, “You should not have forced her to reveal herself in such a way.”
“Me,” Naruto said pointing to himself in surprise. He then began chuckling which annoyed Soifon who softened her stance as he explained, “I just wanted to call you two out here so we could tell you the truth. Then if you didn’t believe us, we’d have her show you.”
“It’s true, Soifon.”
The former Leaf Chunin turned and blushed as Yoruichi had returned to her human form, her extremely naked human form. However, she noticed that despite having appeared nude in front of her many times, this time she did appear rather ashamed, although it wasn’t due to her being naked. Soifon’s blush deepened due to the bashful stance the dark-skinned woman was carrying herself with since she was trying to hide away her assets with one arm being placed in front of her breasts which was holding her other so that her hand rested in front of her groin.
“She’s beautiful no matter the form she takes, isn’t she?” Naruto asked whispering into her ear.
Soifon could only nod in agreement which caused a blush to appear on Yoruichi’s cheeks. The Bijuu began to approach as she apologized, “I’m sorry for testing you in such a way. I… I was afraid you would react poorly, and I guess a part of me wanted you too.”
“Why? Did you really think I would react any differently than the other women that found out your secret?”
“Yes,” Yoruichi said sadly, “I really did. It’s different for those women tied to Naruto… because they chose him, and he in turn chose them. B…but your interest was focused on me. I… I didn’t know if I could trust my judgment in regards to you.”
Soifon was hurt by what the Bijuu was admitting, but Naruto soothed it as he added, “Remember who it is you are dealing with. She has been coveted by humans for ages. Not to mention hunted and feared by them. Wasn’t your initial interest in her born of her beauty and power? In that regards it might have felt little different than the others that wanted her for the same reasons. You just didn’t know who it was you were truly dealing with. You judged her as a powerful human, but what if you knew from the beginning she was a Bijuu. Would you have panicked and ran away in fear as you nearly did instinctively?” Soifon couldn’t deny that had been her initial response. She did begin to feel a sense of pride in herself as Naruto also explained, “You should consider her even being willing to show you the truth without being bound to me a great honor. You are not the first woman to learn of my Family without being bound, but are the first that has been trusted enough to learn the Bijuu have taken human form without being attached to a man that has learned of it. The men which have learned were made aware out of necessity or because I trust them completely. I couldn’t say the same for you, until now at least.”
Soifon although finding it difficult to tear her eyes away from Yoruichi, looked back at Naruto upon hearing that to ask, “A…are you not going to take me as a lover?”
“If it is something that you wish, then perhaps someday I will.” Naruto smiled gently at her, before turning her gaze to face Yoruichi before stating, “But tonight I believe should be about you two.”
Soifon was then pulled into a kiss by the nude Bijuu and although at first she was too shocked to move slowly began to relax into it. Naruto smiled as Soifon wrapped her arms around the Bijuu’s body before turning to leave the two alone. Soifon stared into the woman’s golden eyes which now shown warmly at her as their lips parted and whispered softly and contently, “Lady Yoruichi.”
“Thank you Soifon for accepting me,” the Bijuu said tenderly. She then pressed her lips to the young woman’s again and was glad at how eagerly it was returned. She undid the clasp which held the woman’s top up, and then undid the sash which held her the rest of her clothes together. She then stepped back slowly, letting the saliva that connected them still stretch until it broke, and enough room was created between them so that the woman’s clothes pooled around her feet. Soifon hands quickly moved to cover body, but stopped as her lady said, “No, let me see you.” Soifon did as instructed prompting the Bijuu to whisper, “Beautiful.”
Soifon blushed and then found herself snatched up as the Bijuu picked her up. She found her lips once again were covered by the dark-skinned woman’s so opened her mouth so their tongues could again dance. She also wrapped her legs around Yoruichi’s hips as she was carried to a soft patch of grass and laid down.
She moaned as Yoruichi laid her down, and pressed her right thigh against her shaved mound. Soifon began to grind her pussy into her mentor and now lover’s leg even as the purple-haired woman pressed it into her harder. She arched her back in pleasure as the woman broke her kiss and lowered her mouth to one of her pert breasts to lick around her hardened nub. When Yoruichi practically sucked in her entire breast she let out a loud groan and began rubbing her pussy even faster against the thigh making it grow wet with her essence. The feeling although pleasurable quickly was growing to be not enough prompting her to moan, “Please Lady Yoruichi… let me feel more.”
“My how greedy of you Soifon,” Yoruichi replied with a pleased smile after letting her tit go, “Don’t tell me you only care about your own pleasure.”
Horrified she had offended the Bijuu she quickly replied, “No… I’m sorry you are…”
Yoruichi laughed as she said, “Oh you’re so easy to tease. Don’t worry, I’ll give you all the pleasure you want and then some.”
“Oh fuc…” the woman moaned as Yoruichi removed her thigh and buried two fingers inside the kunoichi. She quickly began working them in and out causing Soifon to clutch at the grass while Yoruichi sucked on her collarbone. Soifon was in heaven as Yoruichi pumped her fingers rapidly. She began twisting them as well causing Soifon to gasp as she began rocking her hips unable to remain still. Her hands sought out Yoruichi’s face and pulling it close to hers as she leaned up, she panted, “L…Lady…Yoruichi, I…I’m so close.”
“Then cum,” Yoruichi said burying her fingers inside. She then began petting along the roof around the same area that always drove her wild when Naruto’s cock ran over it within her. Soifon as if obeying her command tensed before screaming out as she coated Yoruichi’s hand and arm in her cream. She panted glassy eyed, but still registered Yoruichi removing her fingers before she licked up her arm like a cat cleaning itself. She felt like a mouse as the Bijuu leveled a hungry gaze on her as she said, “You taste so sweet. I’m going to gobble you all up.”
Soifon proved she could be a predator as well as she suddenly sprung forward and tackled the other woman to the ground. Staring down at the woman adoringly she said, “I think it’s time that the shoe was on the other foot, Lady Yoruichi.”
“My how aggressive,” the dark-skinned woman said with a smirk, “I think I like this side of you. But if that is what you want then by all means, take charge.”
Soifon nodded and leaned down kissing the Bijuu tenderly despite the bold stance she had taken. She tasted herself on the woman’s tongue, and finding it quite pleasant readily sucked on Yoruichi’s fingers when she was offered them after the kiss ended. Cleaning them for the woman, she found her desire to know what Yoruichi’s taste was had become overpowering so starting at her chest began kissing down the dark skinned woman’s body. Reaching her shaved mound she ran two fingers against the woman’s slit. Yoruichi’s moan was music to her ears, and she found her scent intoxicating. Glad to see the Bijuu had grown rather wet as she had toyed with her, Soifon started by licking her cream from the dark-skinned woman’s thighs. Yoruichi began to wave her hips about hoping to entice Soifon info focusing on her quim. Yet, she resisted as she wanted to draw out the encounter and to tease the woman in turn.
However, her resistance crumbled as Yoruichi pleaded, “Hurry Soifon. I’m so horny. I need you.”
Hearing such words was too much for the woman so she quickly set about to bring Yoruichi the relief that she had asked for. Soon though, it simply became a byproduct of her need to drink down the honey that was being provided as a result of her efforts. Soifon reached up towards Yoruichi with both hands while her mouth remained clamped to the woman’s lower lips. The Bijuu interlocked her fingers with the kunoichi’s as she began grinding her muff against Soifon’s face as the woman’s tongue drove her wild.
She let out a scream and pushed her hips up as she coated Soifon’s chin in her essence while the woman continued to suck on her clit which had set her off. Soifon made sure to lick up every trace of Yoruichi’s essence that coated the dark-skinned woman’s body before climbing up it. Yoruichi wrapped her arms around her causing Soifon to melt into her warmth.
Soifon felt like falling asleep but her eyes shot open as Yoruichi rolled her so that she was on the bottom again. The Bijuu smiled down at her before stating, “I guess it’s my turn to lead again.” She then pulled Soifon’s hips up and folded her nearly in half before beginning to lick the petite woman’s pussy. Soon the clearing filled with Soifon’s cries, which weren’t the only ones.
*****
Yugito came back to earth as she leaned against a tree breathing heavily. She looked down contently at the man kneeling before her and whose mouth had just sent her into orbit. She then said upon hearing Soifon’s moans picking up again, “Not to be a buzzkill, especially since I’m sure they just heard me all the way back in Kumo. But, don’t you think we’re getting a little loud?”
Naruto stood up and despite her words; she pulled him into a kiss. She moaned from his beginning to gently fondle her breast as he pulled his mouth from hers to say, “Don’t worry. I placed a privacy barrier around the area. I know I asked you to come along to help explain things should she have panicked at Yoruichi’s Bijuu form, but it could still be problematic for you if rumors of you going full Tailed Beast Mode started spreading.”
Yugito nodded as she said, “Yeah, the Raikage would have a fit. He’d probably exile me to the Island Turtle along with Bee and Aisha.”
Naruto smiled and caused her to moan as he said, “We couldn’t have that. It’s been too long since I’ve had my sexy kitten to myself.”
“Don’t you think it’s the other way around,” Yugito replied while smiling as she slipped from between him and the tree. She moved several feet away before dropping to all four and giving him a smoldering look of lust added, “Now let’s not waste any more time because your kitten wants your cock buried deep inside her ass.”
Naruto smiled and crouched behind her. Gripping her hips, he enjoyed the way she cried out as he buried his dick inside her pussy. He got his dick slick with her juices before pulling out and pressed it against her anus. He pressed against it firmly waiting until the head slipped past, before jamming his dick inside her butt to the hilt. He quickly began pounding away since Yugito had really taken to having her ass fucked since having her anal cherry popped. As such it wasn’t long before she was throwing herself back against him to meet his thrusts.
Naruto eventually decided to let her take the lead so buried his rod inside her, before falling back on the ground and pulling her with. Yugito didn’t hesitate as she quickly began bouncing on his dick as soon as her knees touched the ground. Naruto met her downwards thrusts as he kept his grip on her hips. He groaned as Yugito reached down and began cradling his sperm laden balls.
“Shit, if you keep that up…”
“Go on,” Yugito said, “Cum for me. Pour your hot cream into my ass.”
Naruto did as instructed burying his rod deep inside her. Yugito let out a loud cry as she fell back so that her back rested against Naruto’s chest. Her cry was cut off as Naruto turned her face towards him and sealed his mouth over hers. Their mouths separated as they panted for air in the aftermath of their climaxes. Naruto heard Soifon cry out again likely signaling she had just received another climax of her own.
Yugito giggled as Naruto said, “Sounds like a cat just sent a little mouse off to heaven.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to send her your regards after the fox sends this kitten to the same place again.”
Able to take a hint, Naruto rolled her so that she was on her stomach and began slowly pumping his manhood into her ass again. Yugito moaned in delight as he slipped through her rear passage easier than before due to his cum which coated her insides. Soon her cries once more joined
*****
Tier was sitting in the study of the mansion that housed the other Bijuu and her. Since becoming Naruto’s lover she had stopped thinking of it as Kiyomi’s mansion as it had truly begun to feel like a home to her. This included the room that she had secluded herself in more and more often as of late when not performing missions for the Great Tree Shipping Company, which was the study. To her surprise, Kiyomi had not seemed to mind having her territory encroached upon. She supposed that was just one of the many changes that she had noted in her sibling which she attributed to the man they now shared.
In the past, despite both of them being the more studious of the Bijuu, it hadn’t exactly translated into a close bond between them. She had attributed it to both of them competing for the Sage’s affections. The Sage had not played favorites for the most part, at least among the Bijuu, and hadn’t with his children at least until the end when he had chosen his second born over his eldest. Also, although both she and Kiyomi had been rather academic in nature, they had diverged in what had interested them. Kiyomi had always been interested in the more practical arts such as creating Seals and jutsu. Yet, Tier had always enjoyed the philosophical side of such things. Where Kiyomi might have created a jutsu that could destroy a village, for Tier the more important matter to discuss was should it be created.
She suspected the Sage was of the same mind in most things, which was why he had not passed on the knowledge of how to create jinchuriki. For Tier, it had been rather shocking to learn that the woman that had unlocked that ability for mankind, Mito Uzumaki, was also among the women tied to Naruto. Tier had enjoyed more than one debate with the Uzumaki about whether she regretted providing the keys to the ability to the various villages through the seals she had used to seal the Bijuu in various items. Tier had argued that by giving the shinobi the secret of creating Jinchuriki, she had doomed her husband’s dream of peaceful existence between shinobi. Mito had countered that her husband’s dream had failed the moment the other shinobi villages had come into being. If she did have a regret, it was that she had not considered that the Bijuu had been sentient beings until after she had sealed Kiyomi inside her. But she did believe that the balance attained with the jinchuriki had prevented the wars from growing too out of control. This was because the jinchuriki had proved to have been doubled edge swords, as likely to destroy the hand that used them, as the enemies they had been pointed at. That notion had intrigued Tier as she was forced to admit, on more than one occasion things had gone against Iwa because she had broken free long enough to take over her host and hadn’t cared who she had destroyed along the way.
Yet, she had asked how Mito could believe in Naruto since his dream mirrored her husband’s. Mito had responded that Naruto’s dream wouldn’t have had a chance of succeeding if Hashirama’s hadn’t failed. Hashirama had wanted to create a single village, which would in essence expose a single belief, The Will of Fire. Which while on the surface wasn’t a bad thing, but the fact that other villages had formed around different beliefs proved that other strong willed individuals weren’t in a hurry to sign up with having their beliefs consumed by Hashirama’s. For example, the Will of Stone that grew out of Iwagakure. Yet, what Naruto was exposing wasn’t having the differences in viewpoints silenced to fit a single belief system. He wasn’t even trying to combine them, but was hoping to find a way so that they could coexist. After all, there was good and bad in all of the different beliefs. Even the Will of Fire for all the good it represented, had also directly led to the destruction of the Uchiha. It might have been an extreme view of it, but nonetheless the belief that the good of the Village was enough reason to justify butchering an entire clan was in essence a logical conclusion one could reach from it.
Mito believed that while Hashirama’s dream might have failed in its main objective. That failure created the conditions where Naruto could succeed. It achieved this because before the founding of Konoha each clan had its own way of operating. So there had been hundreds if not thousands of individual beliefs to try and unite. The founding of the Shinobi Villages had condensed those voices down to the five major villages, and numerous smaller ones. Villages which Naruto’s plans for of peaceful coexistence could be planted and grow as the they began to work together in much the same way the clans that had grudges with each other had set them aside to work together in the villages which had been founded.
It revealed to Tier that while it didn’t lessen her belief that Naruto was special, it did show that he wasn’t so much reinventing the system, as building on its successes while trying to cut away the portions that had failed. But, with that thought she realized that there were also forces working in the opposite direction as them. She suspected that one of them had been subtly influencing the Uchiha for generations, if not Indra himself. She based her belief on what had been recorded when Kakashi, Mikoto, and Sage had read the monument that the Uchiha had safeguarded.
She looked up from the papers which contained the various writings they had seen and recorded with the Sharingan and Rinnegan as someone entered the study. She wasn’t surprised that it was Cyan as unlike the other women that had been given life through the tails that she had sacrificed; she tended to be the most levelheaded. Although, she did use it at times to egg the other two on.
“Lady Tier,” she said politely and demurely.
Tier sighed as she had not planned for the women to act in the master/servant manner that they seemed to prefer. A part of her had considered requesting that they stop, but she felt it might be better if they reached a point where they believed themselves to be her equal on their own. She suspected that Cyan might be about to start down such a path, particularly as she was sure her relationship with Naruto was on the woman’s mind.
Cyan stepped before the desk she was sitting behind and looking at the papers laid out over it asked, “What is are you researching?”
“Not so much researching,” Tier answered, “Simply pondering about the differing tones recorded on the Uchiha monument.”
“Differing tones,” Cyan said with a note of curiosity and confusion. “I don’t understand. Was it not written by the Sage of the Six Paths? Should he not have been the only capable of reading all of it and thus have written it?”
“That is a logical conclusion one could reach at least before unlocking the Rinnegan,” Tier replied. Seeing the confusion written on the woman’s face she explained, “According to Mikoto when she read the monument with her regular Sharingan it detailed how unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan. When Kakashi read it, he was able to learn how to unlock the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and it began to detail how something called the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the key to the Uchiha’s salvation. The common thread between each unlocking method seemed to require a person to commit an act of betrayal. To unlock the Mangekyō it required a person to sacrifice a person they cared for. Kakashi was able to confirm that the key to unlocking the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan required a person to steal the eyes of a person that also had unlocked it. This supposedly removed the weaknesses that one encountered from using the abilities bestowed by the Mangekyō Sharingan.”
“I’m not sure what you mean about tone though,” Cyan said sounding disappointed in herself for not seeing what Tier was explaining. “The tone seems rather consistent considering what was required to unlock each evolution of the Uchiha’s eye techniques.”
“True, if one stopped reading the Monument after only unlocking the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan,” Tier stated. “But, one with Rinnegan not only saw all the previous steps but a final writing was unlocked, but it sounded like the last thing father wanted was one to unlock the Rinnegan unless it was to protect those closest to you. He says that the Ten-tails most not be awakened no matter the reason as it would guarantee the doom of the world. This would seem to imply the Infinite Tsukuyomi must not be attempted either since a key component to it was to become the jinchuriki of the ten-tails.”
“I see,” Cyan said, “That does seem rather strange, especially when one considers that if the Rinnegan is unlocked then the ruse would be discovered.”
“A ruse,” Tier said surprised, “What makes you think of the first writings like that?”
“Well it does seem rather… um… clear that either one tone or the other would be a lie,” Cyan said hesitantly as she obviously didn’t want to offend the woman she saw as being superior to her.
Tier sighed before stating, “Cyan, do not hesitate to speak you mind or be concerned you will offend me. What may be clear to you might not be so for me. We are equals even if you seem to believe you are inferior to me.”
“Lady Tier,” Cyan said surprised and was about to point out how she was indeed greater than her. However, she trailed off as Tier gave her a stern look. Wishing she had kept her mouth shut she sighed but then explained, “Well I believe the mistake you are making is that you seem to be operating under the belief that there is only one author of the monument who changed his mind towards the end. But what if there were two?”
“Impossible,” Tier said quickly, “My father created it, and only he would be capable of…”
Cyan interrupted the blonde Bijuu as she said, “Lady Tier, you just stated that we were equals and as such I shouldn’t assume anything in regards to your infallibility. Are you not making the same mistake?”
Tier could see what Cyan meant as she had been rather quick to reject the idea that someone else could equal her father. Yet, she had to admit that with the blinders removed in regards to her father’s abilities, she could see how Cyan arrived to her theory. Focusing on the woman she asked, “I’m guessing that you believe this second author could only modify the monument up until the Rinnegan would be required to read it.”
Cyan nodded, “Precisely. It might be that whoever left the instructions on how to unlock the various stages of the Sharingan did so in order to guide the Uchiha into awakening the Ten-Tails. How exactly was one supposed to awaken the Rinnegan?”
“The instructions were less clear in that regard,” Tier said finding the paper that Sage had written on the matter due to her being able to see writings that became visible with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. She handed it to Cyan, who began to scan it over.
After several moments the woman looked up stating, “It would seem your author was less sure about this method. He worded it the same, but it doesn’t have the same definitiveness as the other methods.” She then repeated what was written, “The Eyes required to awaken the Ten-Tails can only be attained by uniting the eyes and body of the Six Path Sage.” Looking at the woman that had sacrificed several tails to give her and the others life she said, “It is as if when the monument was modified the author had a theory, but was unsure if it would actually work.”
“It does seem that way,” Tier said accepting the paper back. “But as you say, the ruse would be discovered once the Rinnegan was unlocked.”
“Perhaps the author didn’t care,” Cyan suggested, “It could be he was certain that by that point the person awakening it would be so power mad that they wouldn’t even need to consult the monument further. It seems all the steps required to awaken the Ten-Tails were laid out in the earlier steps. It could also be the person that left these false ways to awaken the evolved forms of the Sharingan was only concerned about selling the lie in their own time. We might just be finding ourselves dancing to a tune of a person that is long dead.”
Tier wasn’t sure of that since for a person to leave the monument lying around, it meant they expected someone to follow the plan they laid out. Furthermore, rather than awakening the Sharingan the true purpose of the changes made to the monument seemed to guide a Uchiha into awakening the Ten-Tails. She felt that the only reason it had even pointed to how to awaken the Rinnegan was to complete that task. She wondered how the person that had modified it would react had the Uchiha reading it only been interested in awakening the power for their own ends. Something told her, the author would not be pleased. This also led her to wonder what such a person would have done to Uchiha that had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan without following the steps the monument prescribed. She began to wonder if perhaps the Uchiha that had awakened the evolved Sharingan around the time that Konoha was founded might not have been eliminated because they hadn’t followed the mystery author’s script. She knew it might be difficult to find out if there had been a conspiracy against the Uchiha who had unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan, but felt doing so would be worth the effort.
She sat back down at the desk in order to search through any of the records that Kiyomi had gathered, but stopped as Cyan asked, “Lady Tier, about your relationship with that man…”
Cyan again trailed off likely afraid of angering Tier since Appaci’s threat towards Naruto had resulted in one of the few times any of the women that followed her had seen her lose her patience. Tier sat back in the chair and folded her hand in her lap as she asked, “What about it?”
“I just wish to understand why,” Cyan said sounding exasperated. “You are a Bijuu, and deserve a person dedicated solely to you. Not some human with more lovers than there are stars. It can’t have escaped your notice how other humans view you as attractive. You could have any man you desired.”
“I do have the one that I desire,” Tier replied in her typical calm tone. “I have seen the looks of lust my current form has created in others. Just as I’ve seen the looks of fear that humans wore when they gazed upon me in my Bijuu form. Naruto is aware of both and do you know how he treats me.”
“As a receptacle for his lusts,” Cyan said sounding disgusted at the thought.
“At times, but then again I use him for the same purpose,” Tier said causing Cyan to stare at her in shock. A rare smile appeared on Tier’s face although her jacket’s collar hid it, “It does stand to reason since sex is an activity that requires at least two people. Or do you only attribute Naruto as having such desires while I lack them?”
“I… I suppose I…”
“Thought I was above it all,” Tier said standing and came around from behind the desk. “Tell me Cyan, do you see me as being above the humans?”
“Yes, of course!”
“But you see yourself as being below me?”
“Naturally, as you gave me and the others life through your sacrifice,” Cyan said reverently.
“Did it you ever consider that I do not require being placed on a pedestal?” She could see her words caught Cyan by surprise so she continued, “Naruto, is truly one of the few people that has seen me for me. He accepts me as a Bijuu, and as a woman. He doesn’t project his belief of how I should act because I’m a Bijuu onto me. He accepts me for who I am.”
“But what of your other sibling Kukaku and Mira, does he not project his desire onto them by rejecting them?”
Tier shook her head before responding, “He is under no obligation to return Mira’s affections, and his recent coldness towards Kukaku was born of her disregard for the lives of his comrades. He made no move to change her other than to avoid her. If that causes her to change, then perhaps it will be because deep down she knows her attitude is wrong. Yet, she is free to believe what she wants, and he accepts that.” The blonde woman stepped before Cyan as she added, “I suppose what I ultimately appreciate about Naruto is that he accepts me as simply Tier Harribel. Perhaps rather than being worried about hierarchies. You should take the time to see how you fit into this world not as a being born of my sacrificed tails, but as Cyan Sung-Sun.”
“Lady Tier, my place is behind yours as I am your servant.”
Tier sighed before replying, “Yet, what I truly would have desired is for you to stand beside me as an equal.” The blonde Bijuu turned to return to the desk to begin her research leaving Cyan stunned. She found it hard to imagine herself in such a position since the thought had never occurred to her. But now that it had, she found the idea of being accepted as Tier’s equal rather hard to dismiss. Grabbing a book from the desk, she retreated to a large backed chair to begin reading it in order to see if there was something she could find that had perhaps escaped Tier or Kiyomi’s attention. After all, they were only human.
*****
The doorbell to the mansion rang in the early morning hour causing Nel to run towards the door as she was one of the few occupants currently home. Tier and Cyan had spent the night studying in Kiyomi’s study, while the other women were out on various missions or tasks. Mira and her had been eating breakfast when the buzzer had gone off, prompting the Six-Tailed Bijuu to tell Nel to answer it. Despite the snarky way her sibling had told her to, Nel had been all too happy to comply because Naruto was due back soon and he often brought her gifts. And while he rarely used the door, he did at times make games of leaving them around the house for her to find.
Opening the door she was disappointed when it wasn’t her favorite blond, but a man wearing a strange uniform, cap, and goggles. He introduced himself stating, “Hi, I’m Courier Ninja five-ninety-six dash zero-three. I have a delivery for the Lady of the house.”
“Nel’s a lady, mister,” the diminutive Bijuu said.
The man chuckled as he pulled a cloth wrapped item from his pouch as he explained, “Yes, but you see I have to deliver this item to the… huh.” The Courier Ninja wasn’t sure what exactly happened as one moment he was holding his delivery and the next it was in the small girl’s hands. “Now see here a moment, I have to delivery that directly to…”
“Bye mister,” Nel said slamming the door in his face as he tried to step into the mansion to take it back. He was sent flying by the force of the door, landing several feet away.
Nel excitedly looked the clothed item over thinking it to be a gift from Naruto before pulling the wrapping away to reveal a stone tablet covered in ancient writing. It seemed newer than the other tablet that Nel had scene everyone fussing over, particularly since it wasn’t covered in pictures like the other was. Nel noticed an envelope that had fallen to the floor. Opening it, she started to read, “To Kiyomi, I managed to secure this tablet from… blah, blah, blah.” The words began to bleed together for her as she quickly lost interest since it apparently wasn’t a gift from Naruto, especially as it was signed by a Jade Chan.
Nel frowned, but then decided to do some coloring like she had seen Shiho do since she was sure her sister would call the bespectacled woman over to discuss the tablet like they had the previous one. Carrying it off to her room she wondered when Naruto would return as she really missed having him around.
******
Four figures watched as the Courier Ninja they had been tracking left Konoha village and was grumbling to himself. The lone female among them said, “It looks like we arrived too late.”
“No matter,” the group’s leader replied, “We know who the recipient is. We’ll simply have to kill her along with anyone that gets in our way.”
“What do you mean we,” a large dark-skinned man with white hair replied, “You’re going to remain in the shadows while we take all the risks.”
The leader smiled before replying, “Only because it would cause me trouble should members of my flock learn of my going on a rampage within the Leaf Village. That is a task better suited to missing-nin such as you three.”
The youngest of the three replied, “We shouldn’t fight guys. We are the Four Heavenly Kings of the Moon Goddess after all. Let’s get along.”
The large man let the matter drop since he found it hard to remain angry when his companion used his innocent act on them. Although, he knew when the time came the youth was as violent as the rest of them. Looking at the Leaf Village he asked, “Should we wait until dark?”
‘Where’s the fun in that,” the woman said eagerly, “It’ll be easy to get inside and then after we destroy the Tablet of Hyuuga we can kill our way out.”
“Have fun,” the leader said turning away as his companions all wore the same murderous smiles.
Next Chapter: Welcome to Club N: Part IV: Amateur Night
Author’s note: Well, I’m sorry to say I had to split the chapter up again. Mainly as I didn’t want to rush through it and there is still a lot of story to go before closing this arc out. Now I will be going on a Hiatus soon, but it shouldn’t be until after part 4 of this arc comes out. After that, I plan to take a month off to focus on some personal affairs. I doubt I will get much writing down during that time so even though I’ll be off a month it will probably be six weeks before any new material is posted. I should still be around my deviantart page so as always can be reached their. In any case, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter. So until next time, take care. Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.
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