911Chapter 2-Slug Hunting
It was about a week after the invasion before the Fire Daimyo came to the Leaf, his army of samurai right behind him, and meeting with Jiraiya along with the three governing bodies of Konoha. The man had heard many rumors during the week about the Leaf, but they seemed so absurd, and was finding them difficult to be true.
The descendant of a Demon King? Contracts with the Shinigami? Something about the Kyuubi being connected to the two? Where did it end?
"Welcome Daimyo-sama. I trust the trip here was pleasant?" said Jiraiya seriously though decided a little small talk with the Feudal Lord couldn't hurt.
"It was pleasant enough given the news that's reached my ears. You, the Councils, and the Clan Heads have a lot of explaining to do Jiraiya-san. I also want to speak to the Son of the Yondaime, who if the rumors about him are true, is the descendant of a Demon King from the demonic realm, and was the vessel of Kyuubi," said the Fire Daimyo, as he saw Jiraiya flinch, and knew that the rumor about that was indeed true.
"Of course sir. I'll have an ANBU request his presence before you before the meeting starts," said Jiraiya seeing the Fire Daimyo raise an eyebrow at him.
"One of the same ANBU, who I believe have failed deliberately in protecting him when he was younger, and helped in his mistreatment? I think not. One of my aides will seek him out," said the Fire Daimyo, as he motioned for one of his heads to find Naruto, and a look telling the man to be respectful.
"But your aide respectfully doesn't know where to find him," said Jiraiya, as he saw the Fire Daimyo smirk, and look at the Sannin like he had an ace of his sleeve.
"My aide is also an expert tracker, who was trained by his Father, and former Hunter Nin born from this very village. The man can find anyone I wish. Besides, given the general description of the Yondaime's son, and his features...he shouldn't be hard to find," said the Fire Daimyo having heard of the description of what Naruto looked like and knew it wouldn't be long before his aide found the boy.
(With Naruto)
The Uzumaki, now Namikaze boy was currently at a training ground sparring with a few Shadow Clones, and being watched by the Fox Queen Kyuubi. It wasn't like there was anything else he could do on account of people avoiding him and Kyuubi for being what they were. Even most of the other Rookie Nine, plus Gai's team were hesitant to go near him now, as they feared for what Naruto, or even Kyuubi in his name would do. The only fraction of the group willing to go near him was Hinata, Shino, and Lee though Naruto had to visit the latter of the three in the hospital on account of the bowl haircut boy's injuries.
"You can come out now," said Naruto looking at the trees and saw a regal yet strong looking individual wearing the seal of the Fire Daimyo on his shoulder come forward before kneeling a few feet away.
"Namikaze-sama, it is the respected wish of the Fire Daimyo that you speak to him in regards to a meeting coming up with the governing bodies of Konoha, Jiraiya, and of course Fire Daimyo himself," said the Feudal Lord's aide.
"Am I to be brought up on charges?" said Naruto seeing the aide shake his head no.
"Not to my knowledge. The Fire Daimyo only wishes to speak to you during the meeting. Nothing more," said the aide and saw Naruto nod before motioning for Kyuubi to follow.
"Tell the Fire Daimyo I'll see him there. Just need to take a shower. Wouldn't want to meet the man without being dressed for the occasion," said Naruto, as he saw the aide nod, and then leave to inform his Master.
"You really want to have a meeting with him? For all we know, he allowed your abuse to happen, and is trying to cover his ass," said Kyuubi not liking human politics anymore then she liked most humans.
"If the Fire Daimyo is involved, then there is no better time to kill him?" said Naruto simply.
(Hokage Tower-Meeting Room)
"Daimyo-sama, I must respectfully protest this demonic abomination attending this meeting, and even more so with the Kyuubi bitch," said a Civilian Councilman, as he glared at Naruto, and Kyuubi hoping the Fire Daimyo would kick the two out.
"I asked for the young Namikaze Clan Heir to join us. If he chooses to bring Kyuubi with him, then that it is his choice, and I will not oppose her joining us," said the Fire Daimyo with the Councilman grinding his teeth in ager.
"He killed the Sandaime Hokage! My old teammate needs to be avenged and this monster has to be killed for his actions," said Koharu, as she saw Naruto scoff at her statement, and Kyuubi smirking.
"Considering how the Sandaime along with most of the village broke their side of the contract regarding Kyu-chan's imprisonment in my body, I think the one needing to do the avenging would be me, and I'm not afraid to let a certain Fox Queen have a little fun too." said Naruto, as he loved seeing the people before him tensing, and paling in fear of fighting Kyuubi again along with himself.
"We are above the Shinigami! We are above the laws of such a God!" said Homura, as he stood up from his chair defiantly, and many on the Civilian Council were slamming their fists down approvingly.
"Such arrogance. Perhaps you along with the rest of the Civilian Council would like to fight me one on one?" said Naruto seeing the proud members of the Councils become silent and made the boy smirk.
'That shut them up,' thought Kyuubi, as she saw her Master let out another chuckle, and lean back in his chair like it was his throne.
"I thought so. You speak of power, but you have none, and you think this village cannot be destroyed because it has won so many battles in the past. Unfortunately, your victories have only made you arrogant, weak, and making you the target of other Shinobi villages that want to see you humbled if not destroyed," said Naruto hearing the protests from the group and they were silenced by the Fire Daimyo raising his hand to silence them.
"What do you suggest young Namikaze?" said the Fire Daimyo, as he saw the Councils protest this, and were again silenced only this time by a glare from Kyuubi.
"Me? I'm not ready to lead the village. Not yet anyway. However, considering the state of things in the village is the fault of the Sandaime, I suggest a Hokage be appointed, who is not tied down to the old traditional ways, can keep the Councils in check, and see things from a much larger point of view," said Naruto seeing the Councils become nervous and Danzo not liking it one bit.
"Who would such a person be that even you can trust?" said the Fire Daimyo knowing right now almost everyone in the village was on not so friendly terms with Naruto.
"My Godmother. Senju Tsunade," said Naruto seeing the Councils explode in anger and knew they would hate his choice.
"Out of the question! She is a drunk. A gambler! She abandoned the village all these years and I highly doubt the woman will comeback just for him!" said Danzo seeing Naruto looking back at him with narrowed eyes and challenging the crippled cane walking man to do something.
"Tsunade only left because a certain dead Hokage and her former teammate of a Sannin lied about me being dead. I am the last thing she has to family right now and can keep her anchored in the Leaf. She is the best medic in the Elemental Countries regardless of her vices and I think its high time my Godmother came back to the village to fix this broken thing its become. One that I don't need to remind you all her Grand Father and Uncle helped create years ago. To not even consider appointing Tsunade for the title of Hokage of the Leaf would be considered an insult," said Naruto grinning at playing his trump card, and saw many of the Councils fidgeting slightly knowing that was true with the insult possibly causing the woman to reconsider her loyalty to Konoha.
"Unfortunately, Senju Tsunade is hard to reach, if at all right now, and someone else closer to home should be appointed. Someone like...myself," said Danzo hoping the Fire Daimyo would consider that fact.
"You? Please! You're a year older then the Sandaime Hokage. The sight of you will only make the Leaf's enemies double in number," said Naruto seeing the war hawk narrow his eye at him.
"Naruto-sama, I sense something behind the man's covered eye. I think...he might have a Sharingan underneath it," said Kyuubi in a whispered voice making Naruto narrow his eyes at Danzo.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Namikaze-san on this Danzo. Tsunade is much younger and her medical skills would help the Leaf immensely in refining the hospital along with the staff," said the Fire Daimyo, as he saw the man looking unhappy, and it made Naruto smile further.
"Even if you could appoint Tsunade as the Hokage, you would have to find her first, and that in itself is troublesome," said Nara Shikaku getting elbowed by Inoichi to shut up.
"If I could bring her back, would you appoint my Godmother the title of Hokage?" said Naruto, as he saw everyone looking at him now, and getting everyone's attention.
"I suppose. She would have to agree to it of course," said the Fire Daimyo, as he knew the woman wasn't very fond of the title, which made him surprise originally that Naruto would request Tsunade for the position, and even offering to bring her back.
"You leave that to me," said Naruto grinning a devilish grin.
"Very well. As of now since this mission is of high importance, I am giving you the rank of Chuunin, and appointing you to find the last Sannin to bring back to the Leaf. Until Tsunade returns to Konoha, if at all to be appointed the title of Hokage, I will temporarily stay here to handle this village's affairs myself, and assign you Jiraiya to assist Naruto in finding Tsunade," said the Fire Daimyo seeing Jiraiya going pale with fear knowing that finding Tsunade was like a rabbit trying to find a hungry wolf.
"I'll need the help of some good trackers. I have two in mind that I can trust," said Naruto seeing the Fire Daimyo think about it for a second before nodding.
"Very well. You have several days to prepare for this mission, just let me have the names of the people you want, and I'll make it official," said the Fire Daimyo with his words effectively ending this meeting.
"I'll let them know and find out if they're interested," said Naruto leaving with Kyuubi to find his potential teammates.
(With Team 8-Sometime Later)
"That's enough training for one day," said Kurenai, as she had her team working up a sweat in today's training, and decided to give them a descent break.
"Come on Kurenai-sensei. I have to get stronger!" said Kiba, as he was still kicking himself for losing in the Preliminaries against Naruto, and that he got to avenge Hinata's honor.
"You will Kiba, but there is no real rush, as the next Chuunin Exams are pretty far away at this point, and rushing things won't help," said Kurenai, as she counted her blessings over the fact Naruto hadn't transformed into his new demonic form when fighting Kiba, and put the Inuzuka in the hospital.
"Well said," said Naruto appearing behind the Jounin and saw the two people he needed for his upcoming mission.
"Naruto? What are you doing here?" said Kiba, as he saw Hinata blushing at the sight of the Namikaze's muscles, and growled at the fact his female teammate never looked at him the same way.
Even Kurenai had a blush on her face! How unfair was that?
"Simple. I need Hinata-chan and Shino-san to join me on a mission approved by the Fire Daimyo himself. We're going to track down Senju Tsunade to become the next Hokage with the help of Jiraiya of the Sannin," said Naruto with Jiraiya's name spoken with clear disgust.
'A mission with Naruto-kun! Almost all alone with that manly muscled body of his to ogle at. Joy!' thought Hinata, as she was so happy, and would have fainted if not for the fact her eyes didn't want to stop seeing the muscled masterpiece that was Naruto's upper body.
"Senju Tsunade is one of the three Sannin. Her medical skills and knowledge are known throughout the Elemental Countries," said Shino seeing Naruto nod in agreement.
"She's also my Godmother. That aside, the line of potential candidates for being Hokage is short, and there is no telling who the Fire Daimyo may choose for the position. That old teme Danzo wants it badly from what I could see," said Naruto, as he saw Kurenai raise an eyebrow at that, but she didn't disagree knowing the old war hawk had quite the rivalry with the Sandaime Hokage for the position.
"When to do we leave for the mission?" said Shino while Kiba was now complaining about not being on this mission.
"In the next few days so get packed for the long trip. Tsunade has been dodging creditors since before we were born and won't be tracked easily. Be sure to bring you're A game," said Naruto seeing Shino nod and leave to prepare while Hinata was now pressing her fingers together nervously since she wanted to ask the demonic boy something.
'Unbelievable! He turns into an actual demon and she still likes him. Not that she's the only one. A few years from now and Anko will have practically tried to glue herself to his body,' thought Kurenai, as she saw Hinata walk towards Naruto, and hesitate to ask him a question.
"N-Naruto-kun, I-I wanted...," said Hinata, but unfortunately for her, one Inuzuka Kiba ruined her chance to ask Naruto on a date, and got in the Namikaze's face.
"You think you're hot stuff, don't you? Well your not! Without Kyuubi or that demonic blood running in your veins, you would be the same loser I fought in the Chuunin Exam Preliminaries, and be the runt of the Rookies!" said Kiba with Hinata gasping at his words before something inside snapped and she moved so fast it even impressed Naruto.
Before Kiba could even register the blow to his face, the Inuzuka was sent flying across the training ground, through several trees, and imprinting himself onto a boulder. With a raised eyebrow, Naruto looked from where Hinata had Gentle Slugged Kiba to the girl in question, and saw the Hyuuga Heiress revert back to her usual shy self complete with a red faced blush.
'That hit was like on of Tsunade's punches!' thought Kurenai before looking at her student with a sense of pride in developing a backbone despite it being used to hit her teammate into next week.
"Impressive right hand you have their Hinata-chan. Most impressive," said Naruto, as he took that hand of hers, and gently touched the back of it with his thumb while the poor girl was having a full blown close proximity to Naruto meltdown.
'Naruto-kun's touching my hand! He's touching my hand! Look at those muscles on his body. No, bad Hinata! Don't look or you'll faint! But those tattoos just makes him sexier and that smile is just...,' thought Hinata before her entire mind shut down and she fainted right into the very place her fantasies would be in the next fraction of a second.
Crashing into Naruto's upper body.
Chuckling at the girl's actions, Naruto picked Hinata up bridal style, and handed her to Kurenai currently watching with amusement yet caution incase he tried to do something perverted to the Hyuuga Heiress. Bidding the Jounin a good day, Naruto left to head to the Namikaze Estates, and prepare for the mission after informing the Fire Daimyo the two Genin had agreed to join him to track down Tsunade.
(Tanzaku City-2 Weeks Later)
"You're sure the information was accurate?" said Naruto, as he along with Kyuubi, Shino, and Hinata were behind Jiraiya on a hill looking at the city below them.
"What? You're doubting my spy network now too?" said Jiraiya though the look from Naruto told the Sannin the boy doubted a lot of things about him.
"No. Just your competence in managing it to provide you with accurate information since we've been bouncing from place to place to this one," said Naruto before looking at Shino and made a head motion to let loose some bugs to scout the city.
'Smart ass brat,' thought Jiraiya, as he scowled at his Godson, and looked away from him.
"While Shino's bugs cover far and wide we will cover the near and close by ourselves to make finding Tsunade easier," said Naruto, as he tugged a little on his open Chuunin vest given to him by the Fire Daimyo before the mission on putting together the team to find the lost female Sannin.
As the group walked through the city, many were giving Naruto looks, though the ladies seemed to give him ones with lust in their eyes, and couldn't ogling his chest. Many of the guys thought the kid was on steroids or something since they felt there was no way Naruto could have all those muscles naturally. Hinata glared at the woman, telling them all to back off, and stay away from her Naruto-kun unless they wanted to face the wrath of a Hyuuga Main family member. Incidentally, Kyuubi was feeling the same way for some reason, as she stayed close to Naruto, and gave a minor snarl when seeing some girl bat her eyelashes at the demonic "Grandson" of Raizen.
"I think I've found her," said Shino stopping suddenly after one of his flies landed on his shoulder.
"Where?" said Naruto looking back at his logical friend.
"Two blocks from us at the bar. A woman with large chakra levels is there drinking sake with another, who is estimated to be Jounin level, and is holding a very...well cleaned pig," said Shino not understanding how a pig could be so...clean.
"That sounds like Tsunade and her assistant Shizune. As for the clean pig, it can only be Tsunade's faithful pampered pig Tonton," said Jiraiya confidently.
"When we get near, I want you to use your Byakugan to confirm it Hinata-chan, and see if it is the person we seek," said Naruto wanting to be absolutely sure it was Tsunade and not a bunch of Missing Nin trying to hide under a henge.
Making their way to the bar, Hinata did indeed confirm it was Tsunade, Shizune, and the pet pig Tonton in the bar. Knowing the appearance of four Leaf Shinobi would spook his old teammate, Jiraiya has Shino, and Hinata stay outside to watch the exits in case the female Sannin tried to run. As for Jiraiya, he along with Naruto entered the bar while Kyuubi would take a seat at a table near them to keep an eye out inside the place, and the Toad Sannin walked up to Tsunade with hearty laugh with a side of cheer.
Something that could have made children cry if they were in sight of it.
"Tsunade-hime! Its good to see you," said Jiraiya in a boastful tone and saw the woman tense at the sight of him.
"Jiraiya you baka pervert, what the Hell are you doing here?" said Tsunade, as she saw the man sit down, and then the kid next to him do the same.
To her credit, Tsunade did blush slightly at the sight of the kid's physic he was sporting behind the unzipped Chuunin vest, and Shizune was now cherry red in the face. They were also surprised the long haired kid had so many complex tattoos on his body and the one on his face around one of his eyes.
"What? An old teammate can't come into a bar, expecting to have a drink, and not find his long lost teammate sitting in the same bar doing the same. Maybe its Fate we meet at last for the date I've always wanted?" said Jiraiya, who heard a growl from Naruto at the mention of the word "Fate", and knew it reminded the Namikaze of Neji in their fight.
"Considering how its you, I don't believe in Fate, and there is no chance in Hell I'm going on a date with a self-proclaimed Super Pervert! I have standards," said Tsunade seeing Jiraiya's smile lessen and turned to the boy next to him.
"Yeah well, you can't say I didn't try, and sweep you off your feet," said Jiraiya, who got an elbow to the ribs from Naruto, and it was telling him to focus on the mission.
"Who's the gaki? Another apprentice? I thought you swore on Minato's grave never to take another after what happened with Kyuubi?" said Tsunade seeing the boy eyeing Jiraiya with anger now and the Toad Sannin was looking uneasy due to the question.
"Yeah well...something has come up back home that made me change my mind and it involves you too," said Jiraiya, as he got another elbow to the ribs, and a growl from Naruto to drop the cryptic talk.
"Something?" said Tsunade skeptically, as she heard the elbow hit ribs, and the ribs of her former teammate cracking in several places.
"More like someone. Me," said Naruto seeing Tsunade now focus her full attention on him.
"And you are?" said Tsunade waiting for a name to identify him for her mind.
"Naruto. Namikaze Naruto. I'm your Godson. I'm also the killer of the Sandaime Hokage and Orochimaru," said Naruto seeing Tsunade drop the sake' cup in her hands and heard the gasp from Shizune.
"What did you just say?" said Tsunade not fully understanding what the boy just said.
"Again, I said I'm your Godson, and I killed two people you personally know. The Third Hokage, who was once your Jounin sensei, and Orochimaru of the Sannin your former teammate," said Naruto casually seeing Tsunade look at Jiraiya for confirmation and the Toad Sannin grimily nodded at this news.
"Why? Why did you kill them?" said Tsunade, as she gave Naruto a cold glaring look, and was surprised it didn't faze the boy in the slightest.
"What do you know of the contract the Yondaime made with the Shinigami to seal up Kyuubi into my body?" said Naruto before explaining everything to Tsunade about what the Third did, the lies, the beatings, and the neglect that came with his life.
That Jiraiya had helped the Sandaime lie to her about him being dead after the sealing so Tsunade wouldn't return to the Leaf to raise her Godson and that the Shinigami wished the old man dead. Killing Orochimaru too was a bonus at the time since the Sannin had long overstayed his welcome in the land of the living and had to die too before the day was over.
"Let me get this straight! My sensei lied to me about your existence, my baka teammate here helped, and violated the contract the Yondaime setup when sealing Kyuubi into your body? Is that everything in a nutshell on why you killed him?" said Tsunade seeing the boy nod.
"Yeah. They both robbed you of being a surrogate Mother to me just as they my life of having a childhood worthy having," said Naruto seeing Tsunade glaring at Jiraiya's frightened form.
"You knew I'd protect him from those bakas or take him away from the village if things got to dangerous to live there. You knew!" said Tsunade standing up with her arms on the table and leaning down to glare at Jiraiya's shaking fear oozing form.
"What do you want me to say Tsunade? I was grieving! I was at a loss when it came to the death of my best student. When the Sandaime told me what he had planned to keep Naruto in the village no matter what, I didn't care about the boy, and said I'd help make it happen. Hell, I even told our sensei how to seal the Shinigami's signal system in the array design, and warned him of what it would do to the seal. Did he care? No! Sensei probably figured he'd be dead at that point and the problem would arise for his next successor to handle it," said Jiraiya before he felt Tsunade grab him by the throat and lift him right out of his chair.
"And of course should anything go wrong, you'd be dead around that time too with a clear conscious on your soul, and no regrets in leaving your student's son to suffer. Do you really hate the Kyuubi so much, you'd hurt your only Godson, and my Godson at that?" said Tsunade she pulled him face to face with her grip on his throat tightening.
"I've done enough noble things in this world that one little evil act isn't going to deny my right into the heavens when I die Tsunade," said Jiraiya, as he wasn't afraid to die, and knew Tsunade knew it too.
"Actually that's...not entirely accurate Jiraiya," said Naruto grinning a devilish grin and it brought the two Sannin to focus their attention back to him.
"What do you mean?" said Shizune now speaking for the first time since this argument spewed out.
"Jiraiya can't go up or down on account of what he did so the Shinigami's decided to devour his soul," said Naruto seeing Jiraiya pale at the idea of being punished for his actions and didn't want to die anytime soon.
Or later for that matter.
"That's not fair!" said Jiraiya before Tsunade reinforced her grip on the man's throat.
"Maybe next time, you won't be so narrowed minded, and do your job in the next life!" said Tsunade, as she threw Jiraiya out of the bar via the wall, and turned to her Godson.
"There's more. The Fire Daimyo is looking into potential candidates worthy to hold the title of Hokage. The list is pretty short and your name came to the top of the list. Would you be interested in becoming what your Grandfather and Granduncle did years ago?" said Naruto seeing Tsunade wanting to say something, which most likely what she had personally thought about the position of Hokage, but stopped for a second, and began to rethink her answer.
In truth, she didn't like the position of Hokage, mainly because all those in her family, and heart had died because of it. They either died eventually from having the position or because it was their dream to become Hokage one day. However, if she denounced the position like the Sannin originally planned, then Tsunade would denounce her family, and loved ones that strived to have that position.
"The Fire Daimyo supports the idea of me being Hokage?" said Tsunade finally before Naruto nodded his head.
"Sure does. Thinks your medical skills could help rejuvenate the hospital and reeducate the staff there since they seem to have become lazy," said Naruto meaning the hospital staff didn't like him and would rather forsake the Hippocratic Oath in order to have their "revenge" on Kyuubi.
"I suppose being Hokage wouldn't be bad. It would get me away from those damn debt collectors," said Tsunade seeing Shizune and Naruto sweat drop.
"And let's not forget spending time with your Godson. Your only Godson at that," said Naruto seeing Tsunade pause before smiling sheepishly.
"That too!" said Tsunade seeing Naruto look at Shizune with a raised eyebrow and the woman sighed.
"It's the sake'. Blame it all on the sake'. Its what I do," said Shizune embarrassed by her teacher's behavior while said busty blonde glared.
Tonton let out an oink in agreement to Shizune's statement.
"I'll keep that in mind," said Naruto, as he walked out of the bar with the two women, and pig so they could meet his three teammates for this mission.
"So you're Kyuubi?" said Tsunade, as she had to admit the Fox Queen was quite beautiful for a female demon, and saw the seal on her neck proving she was indeed still bound to Naruto.
"Yes. Currently in the service of Naruto-sama for Kami knows how long," said Kyuubi, as she saw Tsunade measuring her up, and yet sensed the Sannin was pleased to know one of the most powerful demons in this world was female.
"Don't act like you don't enjoy being around me Kyu-chan," said Naruto, as he smirked at her, and saw the blush reach the Fox Queen's face.
'Baka,' thought Kyuubi, as she saw Tsunade raise an eyebrow at her, and the Fox Queen just gave a look that said "don't ask".
"Senju Tsunade, meet my two teammates I recruited for this mission. Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata. They are part of the Genin tracking cell for team 8 and two of the few people in the Leaf I trust," said Naruto seeing Shino bow respectively and Hinata doing the same though she had a blush on her face because of him.
"Not bad. Jiraiya finds me with his spy network, then these two use their tracking skills to follow the trail, and confirm its really me before the encounter. In the event I resist, you along with Kyuubi keep me from running, and bringing me back to Konoha by force if necessary. I can see why you got promoted to Chuunin in the first place," said Tsunade seeing the demonic boy let out a chuckle at the praise and wave it off.
"Ranks and titles mean nothing to me Tsunade. I'm just a simple person trying to make my way through this cruel world," said Naruto laughing before looking at Jiraiya finally getting off the ground after being thrown through the wall of the building earlier.
"Okay. Mission successful team. Now let's head back to Konoha!" said Jiraiya while staggering over to them.
"Its late in the afternoon. Nightfall will be upon us in a few hours. Logic dictates we stay somewhere tonight and then return in the morning," said Shino with the rest of the group agreeing.
"Someplace fancy. Expensive even. And you Ero-baka are paying for it all whether you like it or not!" said Tsunade seeing Jiraiya gapping at her while Naruto agreed with that statement.
"Why me? Why not Naruto?" said Jiraiya knowing the kid's clan fortune wasn't small by any means.
"Because, as your future Hokage I said so, and its not like your strapped for cash given your damn books being sold all over the Elemental Countries," said Tsunade knowing the man had money, but never spent it, and freeloaded off others before they realized the man had the cash to spend.
"Fine! But only if you let me see your boobs for inspiration purposes for my new book," said Jiraiya, who got punched in the face by Tsunade, and faintly heard the yelling of "baka pervert!" by the Slug Princess.
"Idiot. Oh well. At least he doesn't know we swiped his wallet," said Naruto, as he saw Kyuubi holding the massive thing with lots of cash stuffed inside, and the two were grinning evilly with Tsunade over the amount they had acquired from the Toad Sannin.
"Nice! Now let's spend Jiriaya-baka's money!" said Tsunade cheerfully.
Not far from them, two people wearing black cloaks with red clouds with straw hats with bells on them were watching the group, and the shorter of the two had his Sharingan Eyes activated.
He was Uchiha Itachi of the Uchiha Clan.
Next to him, as blue skinned man with shark like teeth, and wrapped sword strapped to his back looking in the same direction as his partner.
He was Hoshigaki Kisame and was once one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
"So is the Kyuubi brat among them?" said Kisame not being able to properly sense their target among the group.
"Something is wrong Kisame," said Itachi, as he felt a cold chill run up his spine, and that normally told him something bad was about to happen.
"What? Is the gaki there or not?" said Kisame seeing Itachi now look at him with a hint of worry.
"The Kyuubi is not in the boy. Not anymore," said Itachi seeing Kisame's eyes nearly fly out of his sockets.
"What? I thought you said the Yondaime's seal wouldn't let that happen!" said Kisame having been told by Itachi about the design of the seal and what it entailed.
"I thought so too. Somehow, Kyuubi has been freed, and she is with them down there," said Itachi seeing Kisame go a little pale.
"So even if we took down the Kyuubi, which is a big IF unto itself, we have to deal with a Sannin, one Chuunin, and two Genin. Not to mention that other one will come back soon too!" said Kisame seeing Itachi shake his head no.
"The one wearing the Chuunin vest isn't human Kisame. He's something else. A demon stronger then Kyuubi," said Itachi seeing Kisame looking ready to have a panic attack.
"You're shitting me? Seriously? Stronger then the Kyuubi? How is that possible? I thought Kyuubi was the strongest demon of the nine-tailed beasts?" said Kisame not wanting to believe that they would have to fight two demons instead of one now.
"I am not," said Itachi seeing Kisame gritting his teeth.
"So what do you want to do? We have to do something or Pein-sama will kill us," said Kisame knowing they were sent to retrieve the Kyuubi vessel, but things had changed, and it wasn't like they could just defeat the group with a snap of their fingers!
"My Sharingan can suppress Kyuubi. I'll deal with her. You take the other one," said Itachi seeing Kisame nod knowing that between them, it was the Uchiha, who had the edge in taking down Kyuubi, and that maybe just what they needed.
"What about the others?" said Kisame, as he saw Itachi look at him for a second, and then look back at the group.
"We can't engage them. Focus on our objective when she's alone," said Itachi, as he saw Kisame nod, and knew finesse was the better strategy in this case over brute strength.
(At the Hotel Suite)
"Ah the life of luxury and pampering. I love it!" said Tsunade, as she collapsed backward against the soft Queen size bed, and loved how it helped relax her back muscles.
"Very nice. We should rob Jiraiya of his money more often," said Naruto laughing with Kyuubi at the idea.
"Your rooms are over there," said Shizune addressing Shino and Hinata to the two rooms beyond the door to their left.
"And ours are here on the right?" said Naruto seeing Shizune nod.
With that said, everyone went to their respective rooms, and decided to get some rest before moving out tomorrow back to Konoha. Sometime later, Jiraiya came into the hotel room before Shizune informed him that his room was the farthest of all of them from Tsunade, and to an extent Kyuubi herself. Shizune's look telling Jiraiya to not even think about looking at Hinata's room or her own for that matter should the sudden urge to do any "research" for his dirty books arise from this event.
It was around midnight for Naruto that he awoke after sensing two people arriving at his door and they were not with his group nor did he sense they were friendly. Getting out of bed, the Namikaze walked to his door, and opened it just before the shorter of the two in front of him could knock.
"Would you by chance be Uzumaki Naruto?" said Itachi seeing the boy was a sight to behold with so many tattoos on his body.
"Namikaze Naruto actually. Why? You from Iwa or something? Because if you are, I'm giving you all of 5 seconds to turn around, and leave before unleashing my anger on your two asses. Decide," said Naruto seeing Itachi's eyes widen slightly and Kisame grinning a bit a fighting an actual Namikaze.
"No. We're actually here for Kyuubi. Surrender her to us or there will be...trouble," said Itachi hearing Naruto growling demonically at his words and sensing the unbelievable power the boy was generating.
"I choose trouble. Bring it," said Naruto seeing Itachi activate his eyes and Kisame now unwrapping his sword.
Itachi tried to use his eyes to suppress the demonic energy around Naruto, as it would have done with the Kyuubi's, but for some reason, the Uchiha Prodigy found the demonic presence around the boy growing with each passing second. Before the Uchiha could react, even with his Sharingan activated, Naruto had moved with unmatched speed, and proceeded to punch him hard in the gut that sent the former Leaf Shinobi through the wall across from the boy's room.
Kisame brought his trust sword Samehada down on Naruto, but the Namikaze dodged it, and grinned evilly at the former Mist Swordsman. Kisame tried again, using different fluid sword swings only a Master Swordsman could perform, and yet the boy had dodged each of them without breaking a sweat. It was pissing the shark man off something fierce, as he kept swinging, and missing with Naruto now laughing like this was a joke.
Like Hoshigaki Kisame was a joke.
"Hold still you maggot!" said Kisame, as he destroyed the walls, ceiling, and floor with his intended target being unhittable.
"Make me," said Naruto, as he was having a much better time fighting Kisame then he had fighting Orochimaru, and the Sandaime.
This guy knew how to fight!
Still...all things had to come to an end.
Dodging a vertical swing from Samehada, which was now mere inches from his shoulder, Naruto launched a vicious spin kick at Kisame's head, which sent the swordsman flying across the corridor of the hall, skidding across the wooden floor, and creating a spider web crack in the wall he hit. Kisame got up off the ground, spitting the blood leaking into his mouth, and saw Naruto was joined by Kyuubi, Tsunade, Shizune, Jiraiya, and the two other Genin having heard the sounds of battle.
"Kisame, we need to leave," said Itachi, as he appeared clutching his ribs where Naruto hit him, and saw his teammate wasn't ready to go just yet.
"Damn brat! No one lands a hit on me and lives!" said Kisame, as he was going through hand signs for a Water Jutsu to flood the area.
"You obviously think I'm still human. Here's some free advice...I'm not!" said Naruto, as he grinned at Kisame, and pointed his right index finger at the swordsman with red ball of demonic energy forming into a smaller ball at the tip of the sharpened fingernail.
"Kisame! We need to retreat. Now!" said Itachi, but it was clear his partner didn't care, and chose to ignore the Uchiha.
"Water Style: Tidal Wave Jutsu!" said Kisame before launching a massive blast of water down the corridor at the group.
"Demon Gun!" said Naruto before firing the single shot of red demonic energy at the water and destroyed it while Itachi grabbed Kisame to barely dodge the attack that left a massive hole in the wall.
'He just destroyed my Jutsu with a single shot of that...attack!' thought Kisame seeing Naruto grinning at him.
"You should thank your partner fishy boy. There was more then enough demonic energy in that attack to wipe out 100 of you," said Naruto, as he walked towards the two, and was cracking his knuckles with glee written on his face.
Not giving Kisame time to respond, Itachi grabbed his partner, and unleashed the power of Amaterasu on the floor in front of them to keep the demonic boy at bay. Naruto stood in front of the dark flame, scowling at it knowing that even he had to be cautious when being near this flame, and saw the pair retreat through the very hole he made.
"Don't touch it! That fire is very dangerous," said Jiraiya, as he used his skills in sealing to contain the dark fire into a scroll, and put it away for further study.
"Who were they Jiraiya?" said Tsunade, as she had seen one was Itachi, and the other was from Mist if the sword was any indication.
"One was Uchiha Itachi and the other was Hoshigaki Kisame. They are both part of an organization called the Akatsuki. Its purpose from what information I've gathered on them, is to capture all the tailed beasts, and use them in some manner," said Jiraiya seeing Naruto glaring at him and so was the Fox Queen herself.
"And you were going to inform me of this when? Were you even going to tell me at all? Or train me to combat them?" said Naruto seeing Jiraiya looking away from him.
"I had orders not to by the Sandaime. When the organization was brought to his attention, I recommended that training you to prepare for them was the best option, but the old man said differently, and wanted to keep you bound to the village," said Jiraiya, as he seeing the boy growl, and saw his clawed hands flex.
"And like a good subordinate you obeyed knowing the decision the old fool made was wrong. Why am I not surprised by your spineless actions," said Naruto seeing Jiraiya scowl at him now.
"I trusted the Sandaime to make the right decision regarding your life Naruto. It wasn't my place to question my former sensei," said Jiraiya, who was blown back by a burst of demonic energy by Naruto, and found himself pinned to the wall with a near crushing grip from the hand wrapped around his throat.
"Wasn't your place? So the abuse I suffered wasn't your place to stop knowing it was wrong? What kind of Godfather are you to let your only Godson suffocate under the oppressive rule of your so called 'sensei' that wished to have me under his thumb? You are unfit to be my Godfather much less stay alive to see the next sunrise!" said Naruto, as he so wanted to crush the man right now, and send him to the Shinigami for his crimes.
"Do it. Send me to oblivion!" said Jiraiya, as he saw the desire in Naruto's eyes, and the boy's free hand ready to do what it did to Orochimaru not that long ago.
Surprisingly, Naruto didn't kill him, and simply let go of the Sannin while looking down at the man's slumped form on the floor.
"In do time Jiraiya. You still have some use, but don't think your use in this world will be enough to repent for your past sins against me, and my family in general," said Naruto before walking away from the Sannin.
"Who said I wanted to repent?" said Jiraiya mumbling to himself, but Kyuubi heard it, and she retaliated by kicking the man right between the legs.
"Say something like that again pervert and I will kill you myself for your crimes against his family," said Kyuubi, as she walked away, and let the man whimper for the rest of the night alone knowing he would be pissing quite a bit of blood for over a week.
(Konoha-Several Days Later)
"I see the invasion left its fair share of marks on the place," said Tsunade, as she walked with the group into the Leaf, and saw signs of where the invasion hit pretty hard.
"You would think the invasion would humble them in realizing Konoha isn't invincible like they've led themselves to believe, but all it does is inflate their ego due the enemy losing in the end, and it has only increased their arrogance," said Naruto, as he saw the people glaring at him, and whispering names in his direction.
"I still say you should kill them all Naruto-sama. They deserve nothing more then death and suffering at the hands of the Shinigami," said Kyuubi, as she wanted to see this place burn so badly, and could almost smell the fires of Hell rising from the ground to make it happen.
"They'll die soon enough Kyu-chan. Just hold out until then," said Naruto, as he would make changes to this place when he became its Hokage eventually, and his first order of business then would be to wipe out the old generation so the new one could grow more freely.
"Yes Naruto-sama," said Kyuubi, as she blushed slightly at his use of her name, which was toned with affection, and was different from when Raizen had used it.
'Not if I can help it,' thought Jiraiya, as he was walking with a limp, and was a bit angry Tsunade refused to heal his injury so he wouldn't piss blood.
When the group got the Hokage Tower, Tsunade greeted the Fire Daimyo, telling the man she would become the new Hokage of Konoha, and that she would do everything within her power to make things right. The Fire Daimyo accepted her words and the two prepared for the inauguration ceremony to take place in the next couple of days. The two Councils were far from thrilled from this, as they would rather support Danzo in being the new Hokage then her, and his Root program over the medic one Tsunade wanted to create years ago back during the Second Shinobi War when the Sandaime Hokage was still young.
"We do not approve of your appointment to be Hokage lightly Tsunade. Even if it is backed by the Fire Daimyo," said Koharu, as she looked at Tsunade sitting in the Sandaime's chair, wearing the Hokage Hat, and the robes to match.
"You don't like it, then retire from your position, and let someone else take over with more vigor in their bodies," said Tsunade with a look that told the older woman to challenge her further if she dared.
"What my former teammate and fellow Councilman is stating Hokage-sama is that we are merely against the idea of you favoring that demonic thing responsible for killing your predecessor," said Homura, as he saw Tsunade smirk at that, and nod her head slightly.
"I suppose I should feel something close to anger for that simple fact...if not for another one where my predecessor and former sensei lied to me about my Godson being dead. That you all had a hand in his abuse with having the village populous move against him with trying to keep Naruto under your thumb to be your weapon once mentally beaten into submission," said Tsunade glaring at Homura now sweating heavily under it.
"Hokage-sama, be reasonable! That boy is a demon no matter what! Demons are meant to be controlled by humans and humans will use them for power. Surely going against the very traditions of the world, which have been in place for years is not what you had in mind, and letting that monster walk around with a leash on his neck?" said a Civilian Councilman and found himself being looked at with killer intent behind Tsunade's eyes aimed in his direction.
"So I suppose the next time a demon needs to be sealed, one of your family members is willing to come forward, and volunteer to become a demon? Is that what your saying?" said Tsunade seeing the Council members going pale at the thought of their children becoming the very things they hated.
"W-We aren't suggesting that Hokage-sama," said another Councilman running the Merchant District of the Leaf.
"No? So only Shinobi should sacrifice their children just to be abused by you? That is not how it works in the Leaf and it never will! My Grandfather did not want that nor did my Granduncle when they founded Konoha and I will be damned before I let that happen. This is a Shinobi village Councilmen. Not a civilian village. You don't like how things will be run? Then leave!" said Tsunade pointing to the door and seeing them all fidget in their seats unhappily.
With that settled, Tsunade informed them all that the Fire Daimyo had given her his full authoritative permission to run things as she saw fit, and fix the mess the Sandaime made after he came out of retirement. First thing Tsunade did was appoint Shizune, as her new Chief of Medicine at the Hospital, and giving her former apprentice full control of the building with the Slug Princess coming around every so often to help make rounds.
The next things Tsunade did was redo the Shinobi Academy's training program, which had thinned out the more serious things one needed to learn about being a Shinobi thanks to all of the greedy Civilian Council not wanting their children to lose their "pure minds", and fatten their wallets with more money. As such, several experienced Chuunin, and Jounin were commissioned to teach the Academy students about the ways of the Shinobi aside from Iruka's boring lectures. Even retired Shinobi were brought in, teaching what they learned, and about some of the missions Genin teams went on at first when they weren't training to get stronger.
Something that the Councils tried to block saying such things "weren't in the budget", but Tsunade said other wise, and dared them to say where they didn't have the funds for all these changes? The very idea of Tsunade poking around such things made Danzo nervous that his secret Root program thought to be shut down would be discovered, as being just the opposite, and decided to not oppose the changes knowing that he himself would have to have his organization spread out a little more in certain areas of wealth to cover his own expenses while keeping the funds he borrowed from the treasury being discovered.
As for Naruto, right now he was currently standing in front of a nervous, and blushing Hyuuga Hinata mustering up the courage to ask the descendant of Raizen out on a date.
"Come on Hinata-chan. You can say whatever it is you want to me. Don't be afraid," said Naruto seeing the girl pressing her fingers together.
"W-Would you like to g-go out with m-me N-N-Naruto-kun?" said Hinata, as she had yet to stand being around Naruto, and not faint despite Kurenai speaking to the shy girl upon her return from the mission to retrieve Tsunade.
"Could you please speak more clearly Hinata-chan. Your whispering," said Naruto before giving the girl a caring look and saw Hinata once more trying to muster up what courage she had to repeat the question a little louder.
It wasn't easy for the Hyuuga Heiress considering her crush was currently shirtless, and the muscles he was sporting were being very...distracting.
"Would you like to go out with me Naruto-kun?" said Hinata, as she had to force her own neck muscles not to look away from Naruto's face to his chest, and maybe use her eyes to see further down at his...no bad Hinata.
"Of course I would. When?" said Naruto knowing the girl had a fierce spirit within her body just begging to come out.
He had seen it when Hinata fought Neji. Saw that fighting spirit that gave everything she had, everything she was into the fight, and wasn't afraid to die for her beliefs. Raizen had said a girl like that had potential to become an incredibly strong woman and that was what caused the Demon King himself to fall for his human love all those years ago.
As for Hinata, she just needed a push in the right direction to remove any hesitation when acting on something, and that fighting spirit would become a force to be reckoned with. Something, Naruto had suspected had been gone in the opposite way of things thanks to the girl's Father, and all of the Hyuuga clan.
"Tonight perhaps?" said Hinata, as she couldn't believe he agreed to a date, and was asking for when the date would take place.
"I would love to. I'll see you around...eight?" said Naruto seeing the girl nod quickly due to words to say that she did being unable to leave her mouth.
As the girl walked away, smiling a happy smile she no doubt had not shown in years, Naruto smiled at her form, knowing he would have to prepare for it, but the smile left after sensing an unwelcome presence that was Uchiha Sasuke now fully healed, the pink haired bitch Haruno Sakura, and the book reading possibly in the closet Hatake Kakashi. His two former teammates looked less then pleased in seeing him, as they clearly hated his guts, and the Jounin assigned to be their sensei wasn't happy either.
"So the demon boy is going out with weakest Hyuuga their clan has ever produced. Big surprise," said Sasuke mockingly at Naruto and Sakura sneering at him.
"No doubt she'll spread her legs for him right on the first date and have his baby," said Sakura adding her own negativity to the situation.
"Funny talk coming from the girl, who knows all about giving it up on the first date, and having bastard children. Your two families are full of such people and I'm sure they taught you all well on the subject. Well one of them still is anyway since the other was wiped out," said Naruto seeing the two Genin glaring daggers at him and the Jounin narrowing his eyes at the demonic fighter.
"Where's Kyuubi?" said Kakashi simply.
"That's none of your business Kakashi. Whatever problem you have with her is no longer your concern. She falls under the jurisdiction of the Shinigami and he in turn has left the Fox Queen in my capable hands to watch over. Any repenting will be done through my watchful eyes Kakashi. Don't make the same mistake the Sandaime did and try to usurp the Death God. On second thought, please do try again, as I'm sure my Father would love to speak to you about your actions regarding my life, and how showing favoritism to a single student is the wrong path," said Naruto seeing Kakashi becoming angry at his statement.
"That bitch killed sensei!" said Kakashi with the desire to unleash his Sharingan on the boy.
"And that justifies what you did? Stunting the training of your sensei's only son because of the fox he sealed inside my body? I still remember the attempt you made on my life when I was 5 years old. Ironically, it was Itachi himself, who saved me from your little attempt, and had you removed from my protection detail. Its also ironic that Itachi was one of the few, who actually did their job in protecting me, and I really should thank him for that before apologizing for nearly crushing one side of his ribs when we fought after convincing Tsunade to come back to the Leaf," said Naruto seeing Kakashi's eyes widen and Sasuke's narrow in rage.
"You fought Itachi? Where is he?" said Sasuke demanding to know.
"Why should I tell you? The man isn't going to stay in one place for long. He's a Missing Nin for Kami's sake. Besides, even if you did somehow encounter Itachi, his partner in crime Hoshigaki Kisame, and former Seven Swordsman of the Mist would just stand in your way. Zabuza nearly destroyed you with his killer intent alone, but Kisame is at a whole different level, and will wipe your ass out," said Naruto seeing Sasuke glaring hatefully at him.
"I don't care who is standing in my way! I'll kill them because I'm an Uchiha! An elite!" said Sasuke with his eyes now activated.
"If you're an 'elite' like you claim, then what is Itachi when compared to you, and the rest of your dead clan? Doesn't matter. You're wasting my time. Go back to brooding over your petty revenge Sasuke and take your 'I play with Uchiha Sasuke dolls all day' fan girl Haruno Sakura with you," said Naruto, as he walked away from the group, but the sound of chirping birds stopped him, and turned to see Sasuke charging him at full speed with neither Shinobi behind the dark haired boy stopping him.
"You will bow to my whims! An Uchiha will not be denied what is his and never will be!" yelled Sasuke, as he thrust his arched arm of lightning at Naruto, and the demonic boy looked on in annoyance at the attack.
Just before the attack could strike Naruto, the Namikaze grabbed the arm at the elbow, and broke it at an odd angle with a punch to the Uchiha's gut following up. Sasuke had collapsed to his knees vomiting up his food for the last few days, and was sure a chunk of flesh had somehow come up in the process.
"Don't test me Sasuke. Try that again and I'll do worse," said Naruto walking away from downed Uchiha only to see Kakashi in front of him with a kunai in his hand.
"Uzumaki Naruto, I'm placing you under arrest for assaulting Uchiha Sasuke, and will be brought before the Councils to decide your fate," said Kakashi getting ready to fight his former student.
"First off, its Namikaze Naruto you in the closet baka! Second, the Hokage decides such things Kakashi. Not the Councils. Of course you are their little Uchiha ass kissing bitch so why bother telling you this? As for the Uchiha, you should really be more careful when teaching a arrogant emo like Sasuke the Chidori, and the consequences of using it on someone like me," said Naruto seeing Kakashi raise his Sharingan Eye for all to see.
"You will be punished for hurting Sasuke," said Kakashi getting ready to fight Naruto.
"No he won't," said Kyuubi appearing in blaze of crimson chakra and glaring at the Jounin in front of her with that damn eye.
"You!" said Kakashi venomously.
"I suggest you leave now Hatake-san. The Hokage is well aware of what has transpired here. Don't dig yourself further into an already deep hole the Uchiha made," said Kyuubi, as she had sensed what had transpired, and informed the Hokage to keep an eye on it with that orb the Sandaime always used to see things.
"This isn't over!" said Kakashi, as he took his downed student, and his frozen pink haired one away from the two demons.
"Does the Hokage really know?" said Naruto looking at Kyuubi with a raised eyebrow.
"No, but they don't know that. If anything, I can use it for ammo later in a meeting with them, and make Hatake spill it for me," said Kyuubi smirking in a fox like way that made Naruto laugh.
"Good idea. Come on Kyu-chan. I need to get ready for my date later tonight. I need a woman's perspective on what I should wear on my date with Hinata-chan," said Naruto, as he saw a glimpse of Kyuubi's displeasure at him going on a date with a mere human, and knew the Fox Queen was feeling the stinging feeling of jealousy even if she didn't know that it was jealousy she felt.
Though like Naruto, Kyuubi would eventually realize it would all come together soon enough, and the Fox Queen would have to make a choice in pursuing such feelings.
(A/N:YAY! I updated again. I hate leaving fics I start with just one chapter. Remember to always be ready to write the next chapter after positing the very first one and not leave your readers hanging. Until next time...PEACE!)