It was around midnight. The craziest time for employees in pubs.
Sadly —at least for Naruto— there were at least a dozen pubs scattered around the town and Sasuke hadn't ventured to the usual one they had become quite popular in.
So instead of getting a good nights rest to deal with other manners that don't include the Prince of Vanity.
Naruto was kicking in every pub door. Which, caught many civilians attention and her guard attire even more attention.
It was past midnight by the time Naruto entered one of the last pubs and, well, kicked the doors in.
The pub went silent as she walked up to the counter and whistled a bartender over.
"Yes?" The woman got one glimpse of Narutos attire and called the boss over just in case something was wrong with the pub.
"Has the Prince been around here? Uchiha Sasuke?"
Both, the boss and woman were quite stunned Naruto would be looking for the Prince. With her attire, sure, she may be a candidate for a knight (not like women becoming knights was ever a thing) but to actually be looking for the Prince.
The boss leaned his arm on the counter, just to get a closer look inside Narutos azure eyes.
"What's it to you cutie?"
With having enough and had done this yesterday. Naruto grabbed the man by his collar and pulled his stinky breath closer.
"Fork over the information before I shut your pub down and run your filthy business into the ground."
The boss looked at her surprised, but quickly regained his ignorance.
"With what? Kissing his highnesses shoes?"
Naruto slammed the man's face into the counter. Everyone gasped as some women let out a quiet scream.
She pulled him back up by his collar.
"Where's Sasuke you fuck? I'm not asking. I'm demanding you to tell me if he was here."
"He was." The woman quickly interjected, "But he left... with some men."
"When? Were they wearing knight attire?"
"I-I don't know. Maybe around ten... and I don't think they were wearing no knight outfit."
"You said men not women right?"
She nodded.
"Did you over hear the conversation at all?"
"Hmm. Not that I know of."
"They were talkin' about women. The men your highness left with were promising him free rounds at a brothel."
"Where?"
The man shrugged, "Didn't say."
Naruto let go of the pubs owner and looked around. Before looking back at the woman.
"How many men entered with Sasuke?"
"'bout five. Their up above now."
Naruto nodded and headed for the upstairs. The people in the pub went as far as to move aside for her, not taking their chances in a busted nose.
Upstairs was a different story from the pub downstairs. Instead of the rich smell of wine and other alcohol, there was a stench of cum, sweat and iron (womens period).
The sound was even worse. Screaming, moaning, groaning and grunting.
But at age nineteen, Naruto was practically immune to all of this. And the only person she had to thank for that, was the toddler Prince she has the pleasure of watching over.
Naruto removed each curtain of each stall sized station. But with each throw of the thin red or blue fabric, she had no luck finding the new knights.
Well, until she came to the last curtain. It was larger than any of the others. And from Narutos experience, that's where all of the orgy's and-or gang bangs happened.
Naruto grabbed the black fabric and threw it open to see five of her new knights hammered from beer and liquor with one (fairly young woman) in between them.
She walked in and grabbed all five of their scruffs, somehow pulling them all out of the pub and throwing them to the floor.
Being hammered and half-naked. The five young men looked around furiously and the panic lowered when their eyes landed on the general of the knight force (when in reality it should've gone up).
Naruto pulled out a scroll and piece of parchment, adding strike after strike on the five men.
"Go home."
"Huh? We're watching the highness."
The other four nodded to the stupids drunken comment.
"He's gone home... Go!"
Passerby's stared as Naruto kicked every one of the men until they got to their feet and, stumbled in the towns streets.
She put the scrolls away and pulled out a map of the towns and their pubs/brothels. Each small red "x" was a possibility of where Sasuke could be.
Bad news, more than half of them were found on the outskirts of the towns. And from there was only forests. Deep dark forests; one's with numerous murder cases.
Naruto rolled up the map and untied a leather lead. The horse didn't put up much of a fight as Naruto mounted him and pulled his lead toward the general direction of a man Naruto knew would be able to pinpoint what type of trouble these mysterious men were.
~~**~~
By the time she arrived at the border of the Fire Kingdom, it was much past midnight and dawn was approaching.
When on the border of territory, many would think small huts, homeless people or outlaws, lived in would be all around. But this wasn't true, or at least for this part of the border.
From NorthWest to NorthEast, is the territory of a good acquaintance of Narutos. No one dared to touch his land.
She dismounted the horse and left it tied to a tree beside a small creak. It wasn't her horse so Naruto didn't really care if small time bandits decided to take the mare as she walked toward the mansion.
It easily looked like a haunted mansion the closer you got to it. The trees helping with their long and looming shadows.
Naruto walked up the stone staircase and grabbed the round knocker; she slammed it into the wood of the thick door.
It didn't take long for a pale man to open the door. Naruto dismissed his attire and appearance altogether, having known this man as Leo, a fateful servant of Orochimarus.
"I need to speak with Orochimaru."
"Miss Uzumaki.. I'm sorry to say, but he and Lord Kabuto are currently sleeping. If you come back la-"
"That won't work. I need to see him now; and if necessary, I'll wake him up."
Leo bowed his head and allowed Naruto to step inside.
"Your shoes.. miss Uzumaki."
Naruto followed Leo to Orochimarus office, her footsteps as silent as a chilled breeze. Leo bowed and walked away as Naruto entered the office.
It was like she remembered; gloomy, dark and cold. Organs from all sorts of creatures decorated the bookshelves surely filled with medical and herbs books.
The table was scratched from knives and other materials Naruto didn't want to think orochimaru put to use. His desk was neat but scattered with research papers.
In all, Orochimarus office hadn't changed a bit from the last time she entered it. Though Naruto did take it upon herself to light a candle.
"Still afraid of the dark little Naru-chan."
Naruto turned to the door as orochimaru walked through, clearly having just woken up.
His cold thumb ran down Narutos cheek and hummed.
"Trouble sleeping general?"
"No. I've been on a hunt for Sasuke all night and last night."
"No sleep for forty-eight hours is not good for your system."
"It'll only make me weaker for you Orochimaru."
Orochimaru smiled, "Oh how well you know me my child."
Naruto hummed and grabbed the map from her pouch, spreading it on the table.
"Down to business I see."
Orochimaru circled the table to get a better look at Narutos map.
"May I ask what all of these x's are for?"
"They symbolize every brothel and pub in the Fire Kingdom. It's how I first kept track of Sasuke when he would escape from the castle."
Naruto dug the knives sharp tips into the corners of the map.
"Three hours ago I got word that some men, had taken Sasuke to a brothel. Usually he doesn't go with anyone and surely doesn't give into temptation of getting a free round. His pride of being Prince is too high for such nonsense but last night at around ten, men from the pub he was at somehow convinced him into such a thing.
Only drunken or tipsy folk had seen Sasuke with these men and didn't tell me how many men there were. All I know is that they weren't the fresh knights Sasuke had taken to the pub with him."
Orochimaru rubbed a finger against his chin. Humming as he stared at the map.
"These tipsy folk couldn't tell you which brothel?"
"I wouldn't be here if they could."
"And you haven't informed the dear king of this? My Naru you surely have grown independent."
"I only want to make sure my facts are straight before I alert anyone else Orochimaru. Sasuke going missing would be very detrimental especially with the women here on his accord."
"Yes, if he was abducted it couldn't have been at worse timing." Orochimaru licked his sickly pale lips and looked up at his old apprentice. "I'm sure your beating yourself up for not watching him when this happened."
Naruto shook her head, "It's bad in itself if he was taken... but for disobeying my orders to not go to a pub for the remainder of the candidates stay, it's like karma in itself."
"Well it is some sort of punishment... maybe for ruining the future queens hair."
Naruto looked up at orochimaru, "That's the only reason he isn't at the palace. Because I was not there."
"Respectfully speaking if he destroyed your clans tradition, I say let the men hurt him a little."
"My job is to watch over the prince. Not allow him to be tortured— no matter how many wrong doings he does."
"And that's exactly why he continues to disobey you dear Naru." He lifted her chin, "Because he knows no matter what he does, you will always be there to protect him."