As a king could be, Naruto sat comfortably with his right hand resting on his head - he had his right hand under his chin. His eyes were fixed on a single point. There was nothing much on his mind. The past days had been... unique. Never had he thought he would soon find himself questioning his ideals or lifestyle. At least he had not spent much time thinking about it. It would not be pleasant for his goals should he do anything that could delay his plans.
Zetsu was standing right in front of him with a look that could be defined as happy. Naruto did not bother to ask why his companion seemed to be happy. He kept his expression as it was, always. He had no interests in indulging Zetsu about what had made his day. But he could guess that it had to do with what he had watched in Suna. Fireworks were surely ignited at the village.
He had been lacking action recently. All that has been done, was talk and train. Nothing much more interesting. He was now no longer worried about his condition. He had already set everything should anything happen to his body. He wished that he could get some action. It would be good for him to get some fresh air out of the village. A new scenery was always good. The project in Oto was nearly complete, he had to see it soon with his own eyes.
It was no better seeing it from Zetsu's recordings. He wanted to see it soon with his own eyes. He would have to do the same with Uzushiogakure. He had not set a foot in the ancient village of the Uzumaki clan. He would have to soon visit the place and see it with his own eyes. But a place like that would make him go through an ordeal he would rather not deal with at this time. Still, for Uzumaki, he would someday visit the land of whirlpools.
''How did it go?'' Naruto finally questioned looking straight at his companion. He still held his calm look when he asked the question.
''There were a number of deaths in the village. Deidara had threatened to blow some parts of the village if Suna did not hand over their Kazekage. Surprisingly, the villagers refused to allow Gaara to be taken. They were able to deal with his explosions. In the end, he managed to get away, barely, since he was being overwhelmed. Gaara had dealt some serious trouble though. He did not last long before losing unconsciousness due to blood loss and severe pain. He had his right leg crushed and right hand cut off,'' Zetsu explained slowly so Naruto could not miss a thing. It was not that Naruto would have missed anything if he had spoken at a faster pace.
''I assume you dealt with him after that,'' Naruto stated. Zetsu could not have left Deidara to wake up and continue with his life. He had to have finished him while he was still down. Of course, that was something Zetsu could do, not him.
''Yes, I took his head to Guren so she could have his bounty,'' Zetsu stated. The money was needed for the running of the village. He knew that. Naruto may not have much use for money, but for someone like Guren, money was needed to run Oto.
''Excellent,'' Naruto said. ''And what of Gaara?''
''He is fine; he only fought with Deidara while his top shinobi fought with Sasori. A messenger should be arriving at Konoha soon to look for help. Sasori poisoned a few of Suna shinobi who were fighting with him. But they were prepared for him due to the Intel you supplied. In the end, they managed to kill him.''
''Everything seems to have worked well,'' Naruto stated.
Zetsu nodded. ''The battle was surprisingly worth watching. Even Gaara seemed to have gotten a lot stronger than before. His control over sand is impressive. His defense has gotten better. I don't think it can be bypassed easily by speed anymore.''
''That is pleasing,'' he did not look pleased the slightest. ''Sunagakure is still standing after the attack. Obito will probably be seething at the failure. But it matters not.''
''Do you think he will come and visit soon?''
Naruto shrugged. ''Maybe,'' he said.
''Gaara will be very grateful for your assistance. He would have probably been taken if it were not for you. This ensures that you have another ally. I am sure he will someday personally come to you and thank you himself. This also lessons the tensions between you and Tsunade,'' Zetsu explained the benefits of taking part in the event that has occurred.
''Sunagakure, Kirigakure, Konohagakure, and Otogakure, they all ''close'' to me. Perhaps I should take control over Amegakure after I have battled with Nagato,'' Naruto said with a thoughtful look on his face.
Zetsu recounted the villages again...''Three of these villages are part of the Great Five Nations. Soon you will have Konoha and Kiri, well it is basically in your hands,'' Zetsu paused for a moment. ''What do you plan to do with all that? You will have direct control over Konoha, Otogakure and Amegakure, and Kiri and Suna will be supporting you along the way?''
Naruto responded by questioning Zetsu. ''Do you think I am worse than Madara? He wanted peace in the world, in his own way. I simply watch and allow things to take shape without putting an end to it.''
Zetsu did not respond to the question.
Naruto asked another question. ''Do you think my mother would be proud if she saw me walking about without care in the world?''
Again, Zetsu failed to initiate a respond.
Naruto stood up from his seat. ''I find myself asking these kind of questions these days. Perhaps it is because of Yugao, or maybe I am just revealing what I have kept buried inside of me,'' the blond shook his head. What has his experiences taught him? He feared the answer. But such questions should not bother him.
''What are you going to do now?''
''I will continue with my current plans. Nothing has changed, as of yet. Perhaps we might take a different route once I have murdered Obito,'' Naruto answered walking closer to Zetsu. Just because he had questions did not mean that he would stop being him. Nothing had changed he was still him. ''I am retiring for the night.''
''Before you go,'' Zetsu said stopping Naruto from his tracks. ''The Tsuchikage has sent two spies at Otogakure. They will be assisting Kurotsuchi in her search for answers. I received this information from one of the clones stationed there,'' he said.
Naruto ran his hand on his face before brushing aside the hair that covered the right side of his face. One could clearly see his whole face now. He had not thought the Tsuchikage would go this far. And he wanted him to keep playing. But this was pushing it. Sighing, Naruto spoke, ''Deal with them and then drop them in Ohnoki's office, dead.''
This would of course cause the Tsuchikage to become infuriated. If his spies get killed and then dropped into his office without him realizing it, it would cause him panic. That would mean that whoever was in charge of Oto was not to be toyed with. He/she could get into his village, his office without being noticed. Something like that would cause the old man to act fast. Even more, it would cause him to act cautiously.
Zetsu watched Naruto walk away with nothing on his face to read. He was fine with everything. He just did not want Naruto to burden himself with unnecessary questions. Still, even though he was questioning himself, his focus remained on his cause. That was good for both of them. As long as the blond continued on his path he would be alright, life won't be boring for him.
The following day (Hokage's Office)
Tsunade looked between Mei and Naruto with a thoughtful look on her face. The blond was keeping his calm and his expression as always, but it felt different. It was not the same impassive that reflected nothing. She could not quite place what it was. Mei on the other hand was also calm, but with a small smile on her face. Well she seemed to have those kinds of smiles, always.
''Naruto,'' Tsunade started in her Hokage tone. ''Mei-san and I have finalized the alliance between Konoha and Kiri. What is left is for you and Mei to discuss the other terms,'' the Godaime stated. She did not want to actually say marriage.
Naruto said nothing. He kept his silence for some time before finally speaking, ''Okay,'' he said simply.
That was a respond Tsunade had not been expecting from the blond. She had expected him to say something else. But he surprised her. 'What is wrong with him these days?' she thought inwardly. He was very quiet and well kept his distance.
''Be a little happy about this, Naruto. It is not like this is a punishment,'' Mei stated trying to get the blond to cheer up.
''Mei,'' Naruto said. ''Do you want me to dance in front of you with a large smile on my face?''
''It would be amusing if you could,'' the Mizukage replied with a grin. Certainly, the impassive Uchiha Naruto dancing before her with a wide grin across his face would be amusing to see. If that happened, she would engrave the memory in her heart just so she could not forget it. ''Will you do it? I won't tell anyone.''
''No,'' Naruto gave a firm respond and then looked back at Tsunade. The Godaime now had an amused look across her face. ''Is there anything else?''
Tsunade nodded, ''Mei-san, you will have to excuse us. Naruto and I have some matters to discuss.''
The Godaime Mizukage nodded as she stood up from her seat. ''I will be waiting for you,'' she said to Naruto. She then looked back at Tsunade. ''It is possible that I will take my leave today. I have already completed my business here and Kiri is waiting for my return.''
Tsunade nodded. She could understand that clearly. ''Inform me when you choose to leave so I can give you a proper farewell,'' she said with a small smile.
''I will,'' Mei said before walking away from the office.
As soon as she was gone, Tsunade sighed and leaned back to her chair. She stared at the ceiling for a few moments. ''I received word from Sunagakure during the night - a messenger bird brought it. Akatsuki had attacked Suna, but they managed to kill one while the other escaped,'' she paused for a moment. ''The Kazekage said he was grateful for your help. The scroll I received did not entail what you did exactly, but Gaara was thankful. It said that had it not been for your help, he would have been captured,'' the Godaime said. She still had sent her best students to deal with the poisoned shinobi in the village, but all was well. She had no doubt that they would be able to heal the Suna shinobi.
Naruto gave a slight nod.
Tsunade looked straight at Naruto. She figured that if she was going to be honest with him, she should look him in the eye. ''During the Sound/Sand invasion, you fought well for this village. You did better than most jounin did. Even so at that time, no one trusted you. But you still fought for this village. Our relations with Suna will only get better. We already have a trade agreement with the Wave country because of you. Now we have Kirigakure as our ally, and it is all thanks to you.
What you did in Kiri has not only cemented Konoha's power as the strongest. It has also ensured that we have healthy relations with the water Daimyo. Even smaller villages see the light in Konoha for helping out another village in need.
What I am trying to say is that, as Godaime Hokage, I am truly grateful for your efforts. Despite the lack of trust, you have not done anything to tarnish this village's image or anything to harm it. So far, you have done things that have benefited Konoha greatly. And for that I thank you. Now I am truly positive that you have nothing against Konoha. And I don't believe that you plan on betraying this village.''
Naruto looked at Tsunade with a raised brow. ''This is unexpected,'' he said.
Tsunade smiled slightly. ''If you had asked me a few days ago, I would never have thought I would say something like that. You just have done much for this village. I know that our ideas often clash, but I am willing to put that behind us for Konoha's sake.''
She had not spoken to Jiraiya about this. But the perverted Sannin himself did not believe that Naruto was out to betray Konoha. They just did not know what he wanted. But given that his actions have so far benefited Konoha greatly, she could also say he could be trusted with Konoha's safety. They may clash several times, but that was because they were different people. And Naruto had this thing about being in control over everything in his life.
Naruto looked at Tsunade for a moment. Certainly, the smart move would be to accept this new ''terms''. It would open doors for a smooth transition when he transfers to the hot seat. He had no problems in doing away with the past ''terms'' of relations. He could do away with petty arguments.
He stood up from his seat, ''Very well then,'' he said and disappeared in a swirl of flames.
Uchiha compound
He had gotten to the compound before Mei could. He figured she had took a walk. He on the other hand, he had finished his business with Tsunade and teleported to the compound. He wanted to get the work on the Hiraishin done sooner rather than later. He never did like learning a single jutsu for a long time. He had always been quick to grasp the concepts of jutsu's. The Hiraishin was a jutsu like any other. It was just a little more complex than other jutsu's.
Karin had been waiting for him when he got to the compound. She rarely came to the compound; she spent most of her times at Minato's house where she trained. Perhaps it had been because the day started unlike any other. But the girl could sense him wherever he was inside the village. She would know if he was coming or not for their training session.
Right now they were discussing about another matter. Karin had not yet found the life in Konoha worthwhile. Except for the training she constantly did with him, there was nothing else she could do. She was just lonely, with no one to talk to. They had already spoke about this, and he had told her he would ship her to Oto.
Taking her there would cause problems though. Karin was associated with him. If she were to suddenly disappear to Otogakure without any word, it would give him headaches. Oto was not an ally of Konoha, and as it stand not an enemy either, despite the village being founded by Orochimaru, a traitor to Konoha. Well the man was dead by now, and the village was thriving under new leadership. So far, it had not made contact with any other major villages, it had been minding its own business.
Things with Konoha leaders had smoothed up, getting Karin to Oto without raising any suspicion was necessary. He could say that she was not adapting to the village and he had only brought her to train her. She had been living in Otogakure before, and wanted to go back since the village was thriving well.
Still, that would not shake away all the suspicions. Well this was a suspicion he would have to live with. There was no other way. He was not the one to go around manipulating people. But he could report to Tsunade. If he did that, it would give of an image of that he was not hiding anything from her or anyone. He was returning Karin to the village since it had been her home. Someone like Tsunade would understand that.
Yes, the Godaime would understand Karin's position.
''How far are you in Fuinjutsu?'' Naruto asked quietly. He had not been training her in that department. He was only building her physical prowess so she could fight. She could not fight before. At least now she could throw a punch like a shinobi. But she still had a long way to go.
''Getting there,'' Karin replied. She was not going to tell him how far she was. 'Getting there' was enough to drive him off her so he would not question her anymore about it.
''Can you at least make explosives tags?'' anyone who studied had to go through this stage. Explosive tags were simple to do. They were not complex unlike any other seals.
''Yes, but they don't do much damage,'' Karin replied a little bit down. Truthfully, she had been happy when she had finally made a working tag. But was left disappointed when its range of explosion was rather small.
Naruto was silent for a moment. He did not condemn her or anything. ''Your physical skills are also improving slowly,'' he said. Now that was the truth. She could throw a punch like a genin, but her punches lacked power. He did not want her to be built like a man. She was a Kunoichi. Kunoichi's did not depend much on strength. But that did not mean that they could be excused for throwing weak punches.
''Yes, you have already told me that,'' Karin replied with a sigh. Really, he did not have to remind her repeatedly of her lack of physical strength. Sure, she had a lot of stamina, but that was useless if she could manage power behind her punches.
''I have,'' Naruto conceded. ''Are you positive that you will find something to do in Oto? I don't want to be running around in circles,'' if he did take her there and after a few days she says she is bored in Oto, he would have to go back again and bring her back to Konoha.
''Yes,'' she replied with confidence. There was no way that she would not find something to do in Otogakure. There were bound to be many things to do there. And unlike here, she would not be restricted by anything else. In here, her movements were limited. But in Oto she could do all she pleased. Naruto 'owned' the village.
''Fine,'' Naruto said. ''I will take you there in the next days. I will also have to move the library in Minato's house to the crystal palace. Once everyone knows that I am Oto's true leader, I will use the palace more than anything else,'' he stated. That did not mean that he would abandon his goal to be Hokage. The goal was still alive, but Oto would be his base of operations. The village was the center of it all.
He would use the village was his main offices. It would be where he could operate, controlling all that he owned. He had invested much on the village because of it. Konoha was fine as it was. But it could never function like how Oto could. There was no mistake that the village was a powerhouse. That is why he was not going run his ''business'' within the village. It lacked nothing. But Oto was seen as nothing, but yet it could be something.
''Someone is coming,'' Karin stated looking behind them.
''It must be Mei,'' Naruto said. He was not expecting anyone other than Mei to come here. His clones were still busy on the other side of the ground with the Hiraishin. He was not being disturbed because he had been expecting her to come.
''The Mizukage?''
Naruto nodded. ''Go back to your house. I will come by later to inform you of when we will leave,'' he said.
Karin nodded stood up. She walked away from the training ground without any further word. She could use some time to relax. Naruto had given her that time. It seemed that today he would be busy with other things. She did like spending some time away from all the training Naruto puts her through. Sometimes the blond worked her like a slave.
Naruto also stood up and began to walk towards the house. He came across just the person he had been expecting. She was walking with her two bodyguards. The woman smiled at him. ''Ao, Choujuro, you can leave. Naruto and I have some important matters to deal with.'' The smile on her face did not spell anything important. But her bodyguards knew better than to question their Godaime.
A nod to Naruto, and Ao along with Choujuro walked away. Since Mei was still in the village and Naruto would be her future husband, they could trust him with her safety. But they would not be going too far from the compound. They would hang about close looking around the village as they wait for Mei to conclude her business with her future husband.
''Let us go inside,'' Naruto said to the Mizukage.
''I am sure there is a garden somewhere in this place, why don't we go there...'' Mei suggested. It was day and she wanted to sit still in peace breathing the healthy air a garden brought.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the garden at the back of the house he and Sasuke lived within. He had used this place once or twice. Once was when he was with Sasuke after he had returned to the village. He was mostly at the training ground or indoors. He the garden was nice if he could say. It was peaceful.
He sat down while Mei did the same. She still had the same smile she had. ''I have finalized everything with Tsunade,'' Mei said. Naruto already knew that, hence his answer, lack of rather. ''You said to finalize the deal with Tsunade and then we could talk,'' she stated looking straight at Naruto. But the blond was not looking at her. His eyes were off somewhere.
''I did,'' Naruto said in a low tone. ''What do you want?''
Mei smiled. ''I have already said it, I like you. I want to be with you. I don't want this to be just a political marriage. It maybe so, but I want to love, I want to experience what it means to be loved. With this marriage, I won't get any other chance of having that with anyone else other than you.''
Naruto then turned to look at Mei. She was being honest, that much he could tell. ''A chance of happiness, huh?''
''I feel that this is one chance that I cannot waste. I am not getting any younger. I can still enjoy my life at this stage. Over the past years, all that I have ever been doing was fight to survive. But that is all over, I want to enjoy my life now as I lead Kiri to a path of peace,'' Mei explained taking her eyes off Naruto. She looked at the small stream of water flowing within the garden.
''I had almost forgot about that part. You have had a rough time in your village. Your childhood was fine, but later on during Yagura's reign your village was plagued into a civil war. From a happy childhood, you lost your parents and were forced to lead the rebels to free your village from its bloody ways,'' Naruto stated keeping his low tone. He had taken his eyes off Mei as he spoke.
Mei smiled sadly, ''My childhood may not have been rough as yours, but my late years were not pleasant. I had to watch so many companions die, so many innocents killed simply because they had a bloodline. It was difficult accepting it, but I did not run away from my home even though my parents were killed. I stayed and fought to free my village so that no more children could suffer the same fate as I did.''
Naruto was silent for a few moments. He did not like talking about his childhood. It was a painful past that he would rather forget. ''Such a subject, I dislike it,'' he finally said.
''You should not,'' Mei stated shaking her head. ''You need to get things off your chest to be able to move on. If you cannot talk about this things, you will never be truly happy.''
Naruto stared at the heavens with an unreadable expression on his face. ''We will have to put everything on hold until I finish some things,'' Naruto stated looking straight at the woman.
''Huh?'' Mei was quite surprised at that. He said they would talk after she had signed the alliance with Tsunade. ''What do you mean by that?''
''My schedule is currently full. You came at your own time. I have important things that I have to deal with. Getting myself involved in emotional staff with two women is not going to do me right,'' Naruto replied. Yugao was already having an effect on him. He had to work around that and ensure that it stopped. He had to balance things with her and ensure that he was still himself around her.
''Two women?''
''It is nothing important,'' Naruto stated in a firm tone. He did not want to get into that topic with her. Perhaps he would if he decided to engage in an intimate relationship with her. ''You have to focus on making sure Kiri recovers from the civil war. That has to be enough to take all your energy. You still have to negotiate alliances with other villages and trade treaties.''
''I can handle all that. A relationship will bring me down to earth. With a relationship, I will something to remind me that I have a life outside of my job as the Mizukage. I don't want to be lost in my job and forget about other things in life.''
Naruto simply have Mei a blank stare.
The woman then realized that Naruto was not very social. He was not the kind of person to have a casual conversation with. It was mostly all about business. Even if she were to have him, coming back home to him would be like coming back to another work. Whom was she kidding? Could Naruto actually give her the love she wanted? It seemed unlikely. Nevertheless, she did not believe that he was not capable of expressing emotion. Everyone had a human part within their hearts no matter how heartless they seemed. It just needed to be found.
Even with all that, ''Come on; give it a try. If it gets between whatever you have planned, we can slow it down until your plans are completed.''
''No,'' it was a firm no, one that would leave someone without another word to say.
''Why did you even agree to this?''
Naruto ignored the question. ''To get the perfect results one must be totally focused on the objective. I told you that. I already have distractions. I don't want to add another one,'' he paused for a moment. ''I am patient. I expect you to be just as that. When I have completed my objectives, or when I am near completion, I will come to you. Just wait.''
Mei fell silent as she studied Naruto for a moment. The blond then stood up. ''To think I would find myself in this position at this time...'' he said shaking his head.
''There are changes around you and you don't like them, don't you?'' Mei guessed.
Naruto ignored the question, again. ''Do not forget to visit Oto before you return to the Mist. I will contact you, I don't know when,'' with that, the blond disappeared in a swirl of flames leaving Mei alone.
''He just went away like that...'' Mei said to herself rather disappointedly. ''I guess I should have expected this,'' she mumbled softly. He never indulged in anything emotional during his stay at Kiri. But even now, he seemed to be resisting. He was also a bit different, but still had the same outlook. Guess she would just have to be patient.
Before she says goodbye to Tsunade, she would make sure that she and Naruto were engaged officially, even without a ring. That would serve to remind the blond of her. She would be called his fiancé, until he came to her. It was all right though. She could wait a little longer.
Iwagakure
The Sandaime Tsuchikage rubbed his temples as he finished off signing some papers. The village's economy was steady. They had no need for anything. Missions were coming in to the village well and the Earth Country Daimyo had not cut off the funding. He was still funding the village well. This was a good thing for his village as the funds helped recover the village from its loss state. Now they were not in that state. They were looking for the brighter future.
He had still been unable to find Kabuto. Not even a trace of the glass wearing shinobi. He had given up search thinking that wherever the man might have been, he might be dead. As far as he was concerned, Kabuto was supposed to have been dead some time ago. Had it not been for his Anbu, he would have died.
It still infuriated him that someone was able to sneak inside his village and take Orochimaru's former no 2 under his nose. This was his village and yet someone was able to sneak in and take Kabuto. Nothing was left behind, not even a scent. They seemed to have just disappeared. He did not like that at all. But there was little he could do about it. He would just be prepared next time. He was not going to allow something like that to happen again.
He wished that his granddaughter would remain safe though. From the report he received from the messenger bird, she was well and had been treated fairly well. But the fact that they did not know everything going around the village was worrying him. He could not get over the thought that his granddaughter would be hurt should her true mission be discovered. Any village would surely act quickly to terminate her once her objective was found. Spies were always tortured for Intel then killed.
He kept himself calm with the thought that Otogakure would not do anything to his granddaughter in fear in Iwa's wrath. Surely, they know that if something is to happen to Kurotsuchi, he would not waste time in assembling his army and have them march over to Oto. He would crush the village if they were to do anything to his granddaughter. But that being said, she would still be lost. Vengeance would not bring her back. Perhaps it might make him feel a little better. But she would still be lost.
He just hoped that things to not turn out that way. He knew that Oto would do anything to avoid a confrontation with his village. Despite the impressive rebuilt, the village was still smaller than his. Its military power cannot be compared to his village's forces. He had amassed a lot of men over the years to fortify village security and restore the many they had lost during the Third Shinobi World War.
But to be on the safe side, he had quickly sent two of his best Anbu to go undercover, while also protecting Kurotsuchi. They would also be gathering Intel just as she was. But their priority was Kurotsuchi's safety. With them by her side in the shadows, they could always make a quick get away from Oto if anything was to go awry. But he did not think that anything would, it was just a precaution. It never did hurt to be careful, and taking necessary measures to repel trouble should it threaten to arise.
Ohnoki was brought out of his thoughts when he sensed something. His Anbu also sensed it - the Anbu that are always by his side in the shadows. He looked up and saw two bodies dropping down the floor. His Anbu were already on scene to the bodies should it be enemies. But once they were there, they realized that it was just corpses.
''What is it?'' Ohnoki demanded staring at the bodies surrounded by his guards.
''They are corpses, sir,'' one answered in a monotone voice. ''They are still warm; it appears that they have been only killed recently.''
''Who are they?''
One of the Anbu took one of the bodies and stood it up facing the Tsuchikage for him to see with his own eyes. Ohnoki widened his eyes seeing who it was. It was his the two Anbu he had sent to Oto. ''Go out and search for who did this! Whoever brought this bodies has to be near!''
''Hai!'' the Anbu chorused before disappearing with the two corpses.
Ohnoki gritted his teeth. He would find whomever did this and murder him or her. It took guts to do something like this. They were showing him that they were not afraid of him. If they were not, they would not have done something unforgivable as dropping corpses of his men inside his office. This was just blatant disrespect. He could not believe that Oto could do something like this. It was unforgivable. However, he was not going to do anything rush.
He would have to send for Kurotsuchi to return. He did not want her to face the same fate as his Anbu. It would be a great loss for him and Iwagakure. Truly, there was no one he could pass on the hat of Tsuchikage other than Kurotsuchi. He did not want her to die prematurely before he could.
Still, this said much about Otogakure's security. If they could detect that his Anbu were spies within a day, this meant that they had someone capable. It was not good at all. His Anbu were trained in infiltration. Yet they were dispatched off easily. He was not going to send anymore Shinobi into that village. They would only die if he did that. And if something like that continued to happen, he would get mad and wage war on Oto.
An Anbu appeared before him. ''What have you found?''
''Nothing, Tsuchikage-sama,'' the Anbu replied. ''There has been no trace of chakra or any foreign scent. The gate guards have also not seen anyone suspicious. We have set up a parameter around the village. If he is still inside, he cannot escape.''
Ohnoki nodded silently. That was good. They would catch him/her...or so he thought.
Konoha (Later that night)
The world was spinning continuously with no ending. Life continued with all its children. There were so many mysterious in the world that people always fought to uncover. He already found so many mysteries in this life. But yet he was still young. The knowledge he had by far surpassed that of many. He knew so many things about the Elemental Nations. Some nations would kill for the Intel he had on his mind.
If it were common knowledge, then a hunt would be on to see who would first get to see what was inside of his mind. Any village that would have all the Intel would surely be strengthen, they would hold all the cards. A pity no one could get into his head. He was also not going to allow his body to fall into the wrong hands. Should that be, then secrets of his body would be discovered.
Naruto sat on his bed, shirtless. His room was dark with no light. The only thing that seemed to have light was his eyes. He was sitting comfortably at the edge of his bed with his hands on the bed. Life had brought him so many things to deal with. So many traumas. But traumas were the past though.
He was in a new position now. A future Hokage of Konoha, leader of Oto and possibly a leader to be of Amegakure. He had ties with Kirigakure and Sunagakure. With all that behind, what kind of path would he take? Surely, his way would be different than that of Madara. But which way would it be?
Was it all just emotions giving him these sort of questions? Naruto smiled, it was no happy smile, just bitter. He had mastered the art of discarding his emotions. But here they were surfacing, little by little. It was a lot better when he was away from society. Without other people close to him, he did not have to hear about their ideals or anything. It was all about him and his goals.
His eyes flicked towards the door as he sensed someone. Sasuke never came into his room unless there was something. The chakra was familiar. It was not Sasuke, not to say that Sasuke was not familiar. 'Yugao?' he thought. 'What does she want at this time of the night?' and as far as he was concerned the woman did not know his room. He had never shown it to her.
Yugao knocked once at Naruto's door. She waited for him to say something. Finally, she heard a voice. ''Come in.'' without much time wasted, she walked into the room.
She was welcomed by darkness as soon as she stepped in. But that did not stop her, she closed the door behind her and looked at the hypnotic eyes. Naruto's right eye was visible as its red gleam reflected under his hair. The sight was somewhat beautiful to look at. She walked towards the blond who simply looked back at her with uttering a single word.
There was so much in her mind. She had taken much time to think things all over during the day. ''I heard you are getting married to the Mizukage...'' she started nicely.
''Is that why you came, Yugao?'' Naruto questioned in a low tone, different from the impassive one he always uses.
Yugao was silent for a moment. She bended down towards Naruto who was now placing his right hand under his chin. She became level with him and a few inches separated them. ''When we were in Kiri, you asked me if I liked you and I did not say anything about it. But now I can say that yes, I do like you.''
Naruto remained silent. There was a possibility that it was because he did not know how he was going respond. Or it could just have been that he saw that Yugao was not done talking.
''When I heard that you were to be married off to the Mizukage, I felt something in my heart move. I had thought that I would be the only one for you. You had told me yourself that there was no one who met your standards like I do. I thought that I had lost a chance of starting something with you,'' she placed her right hand on his cheek.
Again, Naruto was silent, for a moment.
''I already told you, you are acceptable to me. I would not throw you away after saying that,'' the blond finally stated.
Yugao smiled, ''I am glad,'' she said softly. She kissed Naruto softly on the lips to which the blond returned. The kiss was not anything magical and lasted for a few seconds. But it was a great start. ''Can I stay here for the night?''
''Do as you please,'' Naruto answered with a small shrug of his shoulders.
''I will take that as a yes,'' Yugao responded with a small smile. ''Can you close your eyes so that I can slip off this clothes before getting into bed?''
''I have ready seen you naked, Yugao; there is nothing in your body I have not seen.''
''That was months ago. Besides, I was conscious that time. Now I am not and neither are you. We are also in your bedroom, it would make things awkward,'' Yugao stated in a quite tone. Certainly, in most cases it would lead to sexual tenses.
Naruto shook his head slightly and slipped under the blankets. He did not close his eyes though, he simply stared at the ceiling. A few moments later, Yugao too entered the bed on his right side. She too laid her eyes at the ceiling as the silence continued. It was broken after a few moments by Yugao.
''A few years ago, I never thought that I would myself in bed with you.''
The following day
It was the most peaceful sleep Yugao had ever had before. She quite enjoyed the comfortable sleep. Naruto was a quite sleeper. He never danced around the bed while he was sleeping. He only slept quietly. He was also peaceful and somewhat ''cute'' when he was asleep. You could not say that a sleeping Naruto is the same as the one who is always cold and heartless and mostly uncaring. It would have been funny if he had gotten a nightmare. It would have been gold to finally see that there is something that scares him.
She was happy that she had come here for the night though. It was most surprising that they only slept in the same bed and nothing occurred. She did not think that a guy would allow a girl to sleep in his bed without having to taste the goods. But then again, Naruto was different. The fact that nothing happened did not make her love him any more less. In fact, she longed for him even more. She wanted him to be close to her. She was his girl.
A pity that she was going to have to share him with Mei. She did not want to dwell on the thought. But she would have to speak with Naruto about someday. As it stood, the Mizukage would become his first wife and she would become his second. She did not want that. She wanted to be his first. Although the virgin ship has already sailed, she wanted to be the first one to do it with him before Mei. There was no doubt since he was going to be married to the woman soon, if he were to go to Kiri, Mei would not hesitate to get him to play the naked dance with her.
The thought did not please her.
At least she had him here in Konoha. She would be with all the time she could want. Still, the thought of sharing him was not pleasing. But she would have to live with it. Ironic, it was just yesterday that she was thinking she was the only girl for him. But now that was all crushed with his pending marriage to Mei.
Yugao opened her eyes slowly, as she welcomed the morning light. Her face turned to Naruto's side. She had a warm smile on her face. She usually woke up before chicken sang. She was surprised when she saw that Naruto was not in his side. There was nothing in his bed. He was nowhere to be seen. She would have felt cheap if it was her bed and they had had sex the night before. But it was not of that sort.
She rose up from the bed and looked around the room. Despite the room being dark when she came inside, she could still see things. Naruto's forehead protector was at the nightstand; even now it was still there. She looked at the wall she saw his armour hanged, it was not there. Neither was his Gunbai. Perhaps he had gone off to train. That would explain it.
He could not have left the village without his forehead protector, could he? He had not even said anything to her about leaving the village. As far as she knew, today would be like any other day for him. With waking up in his bed, she would have thought they would stay in for some time while they talked about their relationship. It had to be discussed before anything else. She would also have thought that today they would have to celebrate.
But just to be sure that he was in, she got up from the bed. She did the bed sheets before putting on her clothes. Without another look around the room, she went downstairs. She felt someone in the kitchen and went there. But it was only Sasuke. She felt kind of disappointed that it was not Naruto. She was not going to explain anything to him though. He was Naruto's clansmen and her sempai's student, but that did not mean that she could tell him anything.
''Morning Sasuke,'' Yugao greeted with a warm smile. Her hair was still messy. A bath was needed sooner rather than later.
''Good morning, Yugao. Sleep well?''
''Yes,'' Yugao replied. That was indeed the truth. She had slept well, better than she had thought she would. ''Where is Naruto?''
Sasuke's eye brows rose at the question. ''He left the village about two hours ago. I have just returned from informing the Hokage about that. Did he not tell you?''
Yugao shook her head slowly. She went to take a seat and looked straight at Sasuke. ''Where did he go?''
''Otogakure.''
''Oto? Why?'' That was indeed curious. As far as she was concerned, Naruto had no relations with the village. Not even Konoha had relations with the village. Why would Naruto go there?
''He is taking Karin there. She wanted to go back to the village she once belonged too,'' that was what he was told anyway. But he was aware that aside from Naruto, Karin had no one to talk to. And Naruto was not the kind of person to sit with and have a pleasant conversation.
''Oh,'' Yugao breathed out. She sighed. It was like Naruto had run away from her. She did not expect him to have gone without even telling her about it. He could have told her before he left in the morning. But he just left without saying anything. This was bothersome. She would have to talk to him about it.
''Did he say when he will return?'' Yugao asked quietly.
''In about two or three days. He was just going to drop off Karin and make sure she was safe. He also said he had to do some cleaning, what, he did not specify,'' Sasuke answered.
Yugao nodded and stood up. She was stopped from leaving when Sasuke spoke. ''Yugao-san, give it some time. He has not had relationships of this kind before. There is a difference between having a knowledge and experience about something.''
Yugao smiled slightly. She understood what Sasuke was trying to say to her. She nodded to him and walked away. She had to return to her house to take a shower, change clothes and prepare herself for another day of work. There was no day off unless there were no missions.
Later that day (Oto)
''Halt!'' a guard at the village gates yelled loudly staring at Naruto with a hardened expression on his face. Everybody knew who the blond was. How could they not? Another thing was that he was from Konoha. As far as he was concerned, Konoha had no relations with Oto.
Amusing, a mere guard was staring him at like that. He was the one who made it possible for the guard to have the job in the first place, and now he was being stared like that. He found it amusing when someone looked at him like he/she was superior to him. Well, the man knew no better. He had not even told Guren he would be coming to the village. It was not a surprise visit at all. He just felt no need to inform her of his visit.
''What do you want?'' the guard demanded in a firm tone.
''He is returning me,'' Karin responded. ''I used to live here in one of Orochimaru's hideouts.''
The guard looked at them suspiciously. ''Papers!''
Karin smiled nervously and looked at Naruto. She had no papers. Naruto said they were not necessary. He had to have some sort of plan for all this. The blond was tempted to use his Sharingan on the fool. But he could do things in a less troubling way for a change. He walked towards the guard and stood facing the men. Surprisingly, the man held his nerve well. He took out a paper from his pocket and handed it to the man.
''Come on Karin,'' he said without even turning to face the redhead.
The guard looked at the papers and handed it back to Naruto. ''Don't cause any trouble,'' he said. He was ignored though.
As soon as Naruto and Karin walked past the newly constructed gates - there were not there during Orochimaru's reign, the latter opened her eyes wide at the sight. It was like she was walking at a beautiful version of a small Konoha. The style of buildings were the same. And the streets were all happy. There were kids playing around, just like in Konoha or any other village.
''Its beautiful,'' she said smiling. ''I did not think that this village would ever look like this,'' she paused for a moment. ''Where did all this people come from?'' Oto did not have this many people as far as she remembered.
''Other small villages, some had been here and others were found wondering around,'' Naruto answered. Karin was walking behind him now as she looked around the village. ''You will get to see it clearly tomorrow when I am gone. It is nearly night, anyway,'' Naruto said.
Karin sighed and caught up to the blond. The villagers where looking at them with curiosity. But no one did anything stupid. They walked until they reached the most beautiful structure in the village, the crystal palace.
''Did you actually design this?'' Karin asked in slight awe at the majestic beauty and size of the palace. it was more like double the size of the Hokage tower.
''Yes,'' Naruto said. It was quite pleasant to see. It was befitting for someone like him. It was glorious; no village had such a structure. There was no one else like him. His palace had to be unique.
''Perhaps I was wrong about you not understanding certain things. If your mind could make this image, then you are not as I thought,'' certainly, this building spoke much about its owner. It was unique and made for everyone to see it. Its glory was wonderful and surrounded by things bellow it. Even though some buildings were nice, nothing could be compared to it.
Naruto said nothing, he walked towards the entrance of the palace. No one was stopping them. Guren had to have known by now that he was inside the village. It would explain why no one had stopped them from entering the palace.
Finally, they reached the top office. Since Naruto had designed the building, he had its blue prints inside his head. He could never get lost inside. He had also defined specifically what all the rooms would be used for. There was no need to knock as they entered.
Guren was already standing up. She was not behind 'her' desk. She was beside it, ''Naruto-sama, I was not expecting you to come here so soon. Zetsu had informed me that you were busy at Konoha,'' she also thought that if he was to come, he would do it discreetly. She looked at the woman beside him, a familiar face.
''Naruto-sama,'' Naruto said with a raised brow.
''Subordinates call their superiors like that,'' Guren said. She always called Orochimaru, Orochimaru-sama to show her respect. He was her master after all.
Naruto shrugged, he did not really care about that. As long as she did what she told, he had no problems. ''Sit,'' he said taking a seat in front of the desk. Karin sat beside him while Guren took the seat behind the desk.
''Should we not make privacy seals first?'' Guren asked quietly.
''One of Zetsu's clone is within the palace ensuring that no one eavesdrop. I trust Zetsu's skills to believe that no one can pass through his watchful eyes,'' Naruto said. In truth, it was not one clone. ''But just to be sure, I will set a permanent seal,'' he said turning around with his chair. He performed several hand seals before slamming them to the ground. The whole office glowed for some time. Naruto then turned to Guren again.
''It's nice to see you again, Guren,'' Karin stated earning a narrowed look from the woman. After a few moments, she nodded.
''I did not know you were with Naruto-sama,'' Guren stated.
''I have been with him before Orochimaru was killed.''
That was news to Guren. She was never informed of this. But then again, Orochimaru had become silent after Naruto had destroyed several bases.
''When did Mei leave?'' Naruto questioned getting to things that mattered.
''Around noon. She seemed to be in a hurry to return to her village,'' the crystal user replied. Naruto simply gave her a look. ''All affairs with her were handled. And a treaty was signed. It was no hustle after she had said you sent her.''
''Good,'' the blond said. ''You have handled things perfectly. Once everything is complete, this village will thrive,'' it had to. He would not accept it if it did not. This was too be his HQ, it had to thrive.
''Thank you,'' Guren said at the complement. ''I am sure it will. Business is already good and the economy is stable. When everything is finished, Oto will be a success.''
Then they talked about some business. It was all pleasant, Naruto had no complains. Guren had done a fine job in steering the project. Why would he complain? He told Guren that Karin would be staying at the village from now on and would help should she need the help. Some matters had to be handled separately.
Before he retreated to the first floor - underground floor, he gave Guren a large scroll containing many scrolls. It was for the library within the palace. She along with Karin would have to put up everything. He was not going to carry such a mundane task. He had also informed Guren of Karin's training. She had to continue training until he said to stop.
Everything he would need to discuss with Guren was discussed. By tomorrow, he would be leaving the village. He was not to stay long. A night at his quarters was all he would do.
The following day (Just outside of Oto)
Naruto stopped walking and turned around as he sensed something. His eyes laid to Jiraiya, the toad sage. The said sage was looking at him with a rather serious expression on his face. That was it; he had not been in touch with Tsunade over the past days. If he had been, he would not have been looking at him like that.
''What can I do for you, Jiraiya?'' Naruto asked in his usual tone.
''What where you doing in Oto? As soon as I heard that you were heading towards the direction, I rushed over here. I was told you were with a redhead girl. I figured she was that girl, Karin,'' Jiraiya stated keeping his serious tone.
''Now that raises question on top of the first one. I went to Oto with Karin and now I have left the village without her. A question would come, why?'' Naruto stated folding his hands across his chest. He was speaking as if he was the one who had questions.
''Are you going to answer my question?''
''I wonder,'' those two simple words came out of Naruto's mouth.
''I know you where seen in Kusagakure near one of Orochimaru's hideout. This was where that woman, Guren was located. I know witnesses who said she left the hideout after you.''
''So?''
''What connections do you have with her? It was not just a coincident that after you visited that hideout, she then chose to go and rebuilt Otogakure,'' Jiraiya stated in a stern tone.
''Ho? You have been digging. Well, I never did hide my visit to Oto. If I wanted to go unseen, I would have,'' Naruto stated. ''As for my connections with Guren, perhaps I was interesting in taking her as a mate. She is a lovely woman with some unique abilities, don't you agree?''
Inwardly, Jiraiya nodded; outwardly, he glared at Naruto. Wondering what the blond would do, Jiraiya began to gather chakra on his right palm. A large Rasengan formed on his hand and he sped towards Naruto in his Sannin speed. Naruto quickly unstrapped his Gunbai and positioned it in front of him as a shield just as Jiraiya was about to hit him.
''Odama Rasengan!'' Jiraiya yelled as he crashed his giant Rasengan on Naruto's Gunbai. He was surprised when nothing seemed to happen. His Rasengan seemed to have just been absorbed by the Gunbai. No that was not it; the force of his jutsu was obvious by the scene around. But nothing was happening to the Gunbai or Naruto. He looked the weapon curiously as it glowed.
''Uchiha Return,'' before Jiraiya could comprehend anything. He was blown away by his own jutsu. The technique sent him crashing away from Naruto. It was a Rasengan reflected. And it hit him head on. But he did not suffer an real damage.
Naruto put away his Gunbai and walked closer to Jiraiya. The Sannin merely glared at him as he rose up. A part of his mind was still trying to wrap around what Naruto had actually done. He had not seen anything like that. Gunbais were rare this days. In fact, there is no one else he knew to have used the weapon other than Uchiha Madara and now Naruto. Naruto had become like Madara, in appearance. The fact disturbed him greatly. It was certain that his jutsu had been reflected. How? He could not answer.
Naruto stopped walking and looked at Jiraiya calmly. ''You should not attack me like that. I might retaliate. If you do that again, you might not up end okay.''
Jiraiya's glared did not disappear. He still held it, ''Why did you not do it now?''
''I have not time to engage in a petty dance with you,'' Naruto answered. He then turned around, giving Jiraiya his back. ''I will indulge your curiosity just this once. I was returning Karin to her home. Konoha was not doing it for her despite my insistence that she stay close to me.''
''Is hime aware of this?''
''Yes,'' Naruto answered walking away from the Sannin. Before Jiraiya could say anything more, Naruto was already gone in a burst of speed.
Jiraiya sighed. Well Naruto did not make it a secret that he was coming into the village. He had entered through the gate. With what he has seen so far, Naruto could have found a way to enter the village other than the gate if he did not want anyone to find out. Perhaps he had done it just so that they could think that way. But he could not question that Karin had been living in Oto before Naruto took her. Everyone in the higher ups were aware of that. He had also noticed that she had no one other than Naruto.
If she had been Orochimaru's scientist then she had to have known Guren. The woman was one of Orochimaru's most powerful subordinates second only to Kabuto. Perhaps they were evenly matched or she was stronger than the glass wearing ninja.
What if Naruto had not done it in secret because he wanted them to think that there was nothing he was hiding. Questioning that would make him question a lot of things. He could also question if Naruto had been working with the Mizukage in getting Kiri allied with Konoha. If he could question that, then he was surely becoming paranoid.
Perhaps he should stop looking for anything wrong that Naruto might be doing and give the blond the benefit of the doubt.
Later (Valley of End)
Naruto stood on top of Madara's head, looking at Hashirama's statue. These two men had grown up together despite being of enemy clans. They were so different from each other. The other represented darkness while the other represented light. Which side was he in? The dark side? No. The light side? No. For now, he was in between. He was neither good nor evil. Perhaps some consider him as the latter but he did not care much for what people thought of him.
Once he gets deep into the Fire country, he would have to do the cleaning job he was given. Bandits were not worth testing his jutsu's. He would just burn their camp with a quick strong fire jutsu. That would do it and his mission would be all done. Tsunade had told him of the camp he was to look for when he had told her he would leave in a day or two. But he ended up leaving the following day. Well it did not matter anyway.
He was brought out of his thoughts when a swirling vortex appeared beside him. Naruto simply narrowed his eyes as the vortex stopped and gave birth to Obito. ''I was wondering when you would appear before me again,'' he stated looking down at the streaming water.
''I have been busy,'' Obito stated casually. He looked up at the heavens. ''You have also been busy,'' he said.
''I have,'' Naruto answered. ''What brings you here today?'' It was amusing that this man was the man he wanted to murder. And yet he was talking to him so casually.
Obito seemed to shrug. ''Madara trained you differently than me. Even though he attempted to turn you into another copy of him, he never installed the principles he applied when training me. His one and only dream of uniting the world under a single genjutsu was never made into your dream,'' he paused for a moment. ''When he trained me, he made me agree to bring him back to life by having Nagato use the Rinne Rebirth.''
''I do not have time for this, Obito,'' Naruto said as he prepared to take his leave. But he was stopped when the masked man spoke again.
''Have you not asked yourself; why did he abandon his dream? A dream that had taken him ages to prepare for; why did I leave him alive instead of killing him? A man like Madara can never be counted as out unless killed; why did he not force the same dream to you? Why did he only come to you after I had left him. Surely he knew of you the day you were born. Then if he so ''cared'' for you, why did he let you suffer for 6 years?''
Naruto remained quite.
''It would be foolish to believe that Madara would have abandoned his dream because of you and that I betrayed him. It would be a naive thought to believe that a heartless man like Madara could ever be capable of loving you. His dream was why he existed. Thinking that he had a change of heart would be laughable,'' Obito paused for a moment. ''But I would not be surprised if you believed everything. You were just a child longing for affection. Anything he had said, you could have easily believed. He saved you from Konoha, gave you power to protect yourself,'' Obito then begun to suck himself in his Kamui. ''Uchiha Madara, reconsidering his ideals? Laughable,'' with those last words, Obito disappeared. He was satisfied to have said all that.
Naruto looked up at the heavens. His face was as always, unreadable. He walked over to the edge of the statue and then proceeded to jump on to the water. He used his chakra under his feet to keep from drowning. He walked over to the waterfall and looked down. He closed his eyes before jumping down the waterfall.
...