The ambush occurred just as the students were sitting down to eat. The teens were too stunned and frightened to resist, though a few had tried to run. Both Jonin had prevented the Chunin from fighting back.
"Where is she?" the Mist rogue asked, remaining in the shadow.
"She ain't here," the giant from the first day answered, "Her teacher says she went off alone before the meteor shower."
"Well, we'll have to bring her back. Keep the students from the Fire Country here. Move the other five classes to the locations we discussed, and be ready to execute the plan."
As his minions began to move, he suddenly noticed something. Loosening the huge sword strapped to his back in anticipation, he interrupted his followers as they reached for one of the students.
"She stays too," he told them. Though his exact appearance remained hidden, his eyes seemed to narrow as he surveyed the girl.
"Kaede Mizuno," the leader of the villains pronounced, "I am honored. Secure her. If she resists, we will start killing the Land of Water hostages."
The Hunter-Nin remained stock still as they threw a bag over her head. Then, they brought out ninja manacles: solid cold-forged iron gloves, designed to prevent a shinobi from making hand signs. Securing her hands behind her, they pushed her roughly to the floor.
"Nyoko Honokate," Bunjiro's thick, gravelly voice emerged from the hotel's PA system, "If you do not return to the hotel and surrender yourself to us, we will begin killing hostages. Starting with your friends and classmates."
"Iruka-sensei, what should we do?" Sakura whispered.
"Nothing, yet. They have us outnumbered. If we were to fight, chances are the civilians would get hurt, especially the students they took away."
"Naruto is with Nyoko," Yugao reminded them, "He will keep her safe. We wait as long as we can."
"Naruto, let me go," Nyoko struggled to break free, "I can't let them kill my classmates."
"No way," he held her gently, her arms pinned to her sides, "If this guy is half as nasty as I read, he'll kill all the hostages just to cover his tracks. And who knows what he'll do to you before he gets his ransom. One of his old buddies once suggested cutting off my legs so I couldn't run away."
She seized up in fear, and then went limp.
"What do we do then?" she turned to look at him when he finally released her.
"Hmmm," the blond ninja's face crinkled in thought, "Well I guess Plan A is out."
"Plan A?" she considered that, "You mean creating hundreds of Shadow Clones, and sending them to attack en masse?"
"That's the one," he confirmed.
"So why not use it?"
"The hostages. I don't know the enemy's numbers, or location, or anything. So starting a pitched battle would just put all the students at risk."
Then he looked a little browbeaten, "Besides, Iruka-sensei would lecture me and Sakura would probably sock me."
"OK, then what about Plan B?"
"Improvise a new attack based on something I saw someone else do?" he looked confused, "I would need someone to fight first."
"Wait, you actually consider that your Plan B?" the princess almost let her jaw drop.
"I need more information about what's going on inside," he frowned slightly as he let the crack pass, "I guess that means it's time for a little recon."
He put his hands together, and announced, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A half-dozen copies sprang into being around them. Without waiting, each duplicate put his own hands together and said, "Transform."
Where had stood six Naruto clones, there were now six little, white mice. The rodents all nodded to their progenitor, and scurried off to the hotel, far faster than normal mice.
"One more thing," he commented, "Weapon Summon Jutsu."
His casual shirt stretched around his heart as the wooden box materialized. He removed the container, and withdrew the blades. After a second of terse consideration, he sent the box back to his room. He turned back to Nyoko, and handed her the red wrapped and tailed dagger.
"Just in case," he told her gravely, "And I what that back when this is over. It is important to me."
She nodded and took the kunai.
"Now what?" she asked nervously.
"The clones know that they have ten minutes. Unless something else happens, we wait for their intel."
The altered ninja scampered into the building. They squeezed under one of the side doors, entering the hotel near the kitchens. At the first branch, they split up, three going straight and three turning right.
One of the groups encountered a rough looking woman, carrying a large club. Like real mice, they scrambled towards the walls. But the mercenary did not notice them, and continued walking. One of the Naruto clones peeled off, following the criminal. The remaining two continued onwards, quickly reaching the pastry kitchen. Inside the pair found seven of the marauders holding most of the hotel staff. They also recognized two of the crooks as members of the cleaning staff. Exchanging angry glances, the furry duplicates exited the makeshift prison.
The other set of fake rodents found themselves in the lobby. Through the glass walls of the gift shop, they noted the group from the Land of Water. At fifteen students and two students, they were one girl short, leaving the Narutos to wonder where Kaede was. They split up from there, one heading into the east wing, another searching the west side of the lodge. The final copy went around the store towards the special purpose rooms, including the ballroom they had been using as a cafeteria-style dining hall.
Naruto was briefly surprised to see all three classes from the Land of Fire together. His shock lasted slightly longer when he recognized Kaede bound and lying on the floor. He ran over to her, after a quick examination, determined she was unharmed. And ticklish. Unable to suppress a giggle when Naruto's tail brushed her, she attracted some unwanted attention.
"What's so funny, girl?" the large bandit kicked her.
"Something touched my side," she admitted.
Naruto darted away from her towards the wall. The rodent barely avoided a single-edged knife thrown at him.
"Just a rat," one of the kidnappers noted, "I guess the cleaning crew wasn't quite up to snuff."
The others laughed at this, except for Bunjiro. He stared for a long time at where Naruto disappeared in a gap in wall. After a few minutes, he seemed satisfied, and returned his attention to his hostages and minions.
Naruto watched also, until his opponent turned away and the coast was clear. He slunk across the floor, and quietly climbed the leg of a certain chair. He knew Hinata was not ticklish. He crawled up her yukata, and behind her hand, tightly gripping the cloth. He felt the muscles in her wrist clench, but she betrayed no other reaction. The kunoichi shifted her arm slightly, so she could get a look at the intruder. Her eyes shifted to the rodent, who met her gaze unflinchingly. Ice blue orbs stared back at her, familiar.
"Naruto?" she mouthed soundlessly. The tiny animal nodded.
"Scouting?" she enunciated carefully, so he could read her lips. He nodded again.
"Do you have a plan?" But this time he shook his head, no.
"Did you find the others?"
He nodded, shook his head, then shrugged. She looked confused, and the mouse form did its best pantomime of the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Oh, more than one of you." The copy bobbed its head once.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Naruto shrugged, then winked at her, and gave her the rodent's best approximation of his crooked, goofy grin.
"Hey!" one of the criminals turned towards Hinata, "What are you mumbling over there?"
Hinata's face assumed an expression of terror, and she began to rhythmically chant, "This can't be real. This can't be real."
Admiring the girl's ingenuity, the clone dismissed himself.
"Good move, Hinata," the real Naruto whispered as the clone's memories flowed into him.
"OK," he looked up at Nyoko, his expression fierce, "Now that I know the score, it's time to crash this party."
"So you found everyone?"
"Yeah," he balanced out the memories sifting through his mind, "Everyone from the Land of Fire is in the dining room, with twenty-two of the bandits and their boss, plus Kaede."
"Why Kaede?" the princess was surprised, worried, and annoyed, all at once.
"I don't know," he lied, then quickly continued, "The other five classes are being held individually, the Land of Water class in the gift shop. The rest are split between the first and third floor hallways in both of the hotel wings. Each class has four guards. And the hotel's real staff is in the kitchen with seven guards. Plus, there are eight or ten additional mercenaries wandering the halls."
"Let's go," he said.
"Let's? As in both of us?" Nyoko was surprised.
"I don't think it would be smart to leave you out here alone."
"You could leave me some Shadow Clones," despite her previous confidence, she was less than eager to follow him into danger.
"Shadow Clones are meant for offense, not defense," he told her, "if there are any reinforcements in the woods, or some them escape, I might as well just hand you over to them."
"Well, then, stay here with me," she pleaded, "Just send in your copies, let them do the job."
"I can't. I have to be there, in case something goes wrong. If all my clones are killed, I would be back to square one, and I'd lose the element of surprise."
He looked at her frightened face, and was mentally torn. He decided to push the issue.
"I... We could do nothing. Stay out here, and leave it to my friends. I can try to find some way to get Iruka-sensei what I've learned, so..."
"So they can save as many lives as possible," she finished with a sigh, "You think I'm being selfish."
"No, I think you're scared. And in a lot of ways, you are right. If I could think of any way to leave you here safely, and launch the attack, I would go in alone."
He exhaled, "But I can't think of any way. So, I'll leave it up to you. We can stay out here, and leave it to the others. Or we can go in, try to help."
For three long seconds, she didn't bother to hide her turmoil.
"Alright," her face hardened, and she tightened her grip around the kunai, "I'll trust in you."
"One last thing," Naruto stared at her intently, "You cannot say anything. If I ask you a question, nod or shake your head. Any other noise you make I can cover up, but not speech. Got it?"
She opened her mouth, then smiled ruefully, and nodded her head, 'yes'.
"OK, lets go."
"Yugao-sensei," Hinata continued to rock back and forth, staring at the floor. But as soon as the kidnappers became disinterested in her feigned terror, she changed her chant to normal speech. The Jonin's eyes shifted, and she made quick gesture to indicate she was listening.
"Naruto was here," the girl whispered, "Scouting."
"What did he tell you?"
"He couldn't speak. And he had clones running all over the place."
The former ANBU hid her realization, and mouthed, "The rat?"
"Yes," Hinata affirmed, "He's going to try something, we need to be ready."
"And Nyoko?" the purple-tressed kunoichi pressed.
"I didn't have a chance to ask, before they noticed me talking," the Byakugan wielder was chagrined at her lapse.
"I hope he doesn't do anything too stupid," the female leader worried.
"This is Naruto," Shikamaru had been listening too, and his comment was both snide and dubious.
The real Naruto moved slightly ahead, while a single Shadow Clone remained with Nyoko, just over two meters back. They lead her to the same door his scouts had previously entered.
"We're heading to the kitchen first," he explained, "to free the staff and get some equipment."
When they reached their destination, the duplicate lead Nyoko into a locker room.
"We can't let them see you," the copy explained. She frowned at him, and shrugged in confusion.
"I recognize eight of the kidnappers as being members of the hotel staff. There could be more, still hiding."
She nodded her agreement.
"By the way," Naruto's double looked her up and down, "I think you should change into one of the waiter's uniforms. For freedom of movement."
The princess nodded, full aware her yukata was hardly designed for physical activity. Then she puffed up her cheeks, and stared at him angrily.
"What?" he hissed. She glared at him, and spun her finger around.
"You want me to turn around?"
She nodded.
The clone dutifully complied, mumbling, "Twenty minutes ago, she was trying to seduce me, now she doesn't want me to see her undress," in annoyance.
The real Naruto was thankfully unaware of any of this. When he reached the kitchen, he carefully used the polished edge of his blue-accented kunai to peer around the corner. He quickly memorized the locations of the bored looking mercenaries. After he had learned the placement of his enemies, he snaked his hand around the corner and turned off the lights.
"What the..." the angry comment was cut off by the proclamation, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" and the cacophony of fist and metal striking flesh. Naruto flicked the light switch, revealing a room crowded by duplicates. Each criminal had his or her mouth covered by at least one clone. The most of the copies exploded, and all of the bandits fell to the floor, dead or unconscious. Even that small amount of blood caused one of the busboys to nearly vomit. Naruto and the remaining clones freed the employees.
"Follow them, they will take you outside," he ordered, and the workers complied as quickly and quietly as they could. As they left, Naruto searched the villains for weapons, and also for communications devices. He found no radios, cell phones, or even walky-talkies. The blonde shinobi realized that was part of the reason for the rovers, to pass messages. He took four of the daggers that were in the best shape, and dumped the remaining implements into the ovens, setting them to the highest heat. Finally, the Kyubi's host unceremoniously tossed the bodies, living or not, into the freezer.
Once the hotel staff was clear, one of the four clones dissipated to let Naruto know, and Nyoko and her guardian joined him. He handed one of the purloined blades to the duplicate, and offered Nyoko a butcher's cleaver and a cast iron frying pan. She looked at him in confusion, and then pointed to the kunai he had lent her.
"That's backup. A last resort of last resorts. Besides, with these and that uniform, you might be able to pass as a staff member."
She frowned in confusion, and pointed at her face.
"Yeah, they probably know what you look like. But if we get separated, and you are caught... Well, anything you can do to buy time or give yourself an opening to attack..."
Nyoko pursed her lips, and nodded. She wrapped the kunai in a towel, stuck it in her pants pocket, and took the tools. Naruto then created another set of ten clones. These copies morphed into rodents again, and scattered.
"Look-outs," he explained at her questioning gaze, "In case someone catches on. Come on, we need to keep moving."
The trio headed towards the west wing. Along the way, Naruto eliminated two of the floaters, carefully hiding the bodies. On the first floor, the ninja and his clones defeated crooks, although not fast enough to prevent one of the Land of Earth students from suffering a minor injury when one of the bandits tried to use the teen as a human shield.
The bandits in the ballroom were enjoying themselves, taunting some of the students. Though it galled most of the shinobi to just sit by, they did so nevertheless. Just when Choji had reached his breaking point, Bunjiro suddenly stood, staring at the door.
"What is it, boss?" the giant with the mohawk asked, suddenly leaving his prey behind.
"Kenji is late," the rogue ninja growled.
"Maybe he had to use the bathroom? Or some of the kids got uppity?"
"Perhaps," the leader sounded dubious, "If he does not appear shortly, you will be going to find him. And if he is slacking off..."
The bandits shuddered. And unseen outside the door, a rodent ceased to exist in a puff of smoke.
"Damn it," Naruto had met up with Nyoko and the clone again, and they were starting to head to the third floor. He froze suddenly, with an annoyed and slightly fearful look.
In her confusion, the princess almost broke her promise, and asked 'what?'. But she just managed to keep the word from forming. The blonde shinobi recognized her intent, and answered the question anyway.
"Their boss said one of the roamers was supposed to report in," Naruto explained quietly, "And if the guy doesn't show up, he's going to send out a search party."
"Nyoko," he looked at her, and asked, "Do you trust me?'
She was frightened by his intensity, but she forced herself to nod, 'yes'.
"OK."
The door to the modified dining room opened, and the bandits turned, expecting to see their missing comrade. Instead, they saw a tall youth, with blonde, spiky hair. The teen was holding their target tightly around the waist with one arm, and held a butcher's knife to her throat with the other.
"Let my friends go now," he shouted, "Or you lose the princess!"
"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled, "What the hell are you doing?"
"She tried to run away. She was just going to leave you guys at their mercy."
"You idiot, do you know what you how much trouble you are in?" one Nyoko's teacher's asked.
"They won't kill her, they need her alive to get whatever it is they want," the teen countered, "The same doesn't apply to the rest of us."
This pronouncement jarred many of the students, and one of the girls burst into tears.
"How did you get in here?" Bunjiro asked in a sinister tone.
"Umm," Naruto looked nervous, "The west-side delivery door. We had to sneak past some guys playing dice."
The villain masked his annoyance, "And what do you propose?"
"You let my friends go, I give you the girl," he stated, "That simple."
"That simple? And what about the other students?" he asked, deviously.
"Oh," Naruto appeared surprised by the question, "Uh, them too."
"Instead, what if I give you one of your friends for the girl?"
"What? Um, no!" the teen tried to sound forceful, "All of them."
"I would have to be a fool to release all of your friends," the villain exhaled roughly, as if laughing.
"You would still have all the other students," he offered, "Let my friends go as a show of trust, and then trade the girl for all the rest."
"Or," the rogue stood, loosening his giant sword in its sheath, "I could end this charade, kill you now, and just take the wench."
Naruto closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his feigned fear and uncertainty were gone.
"You're right, it's time to end this 'charade'."
Naruto released the girl, who drew a number of daggers and knives from under her apron. With surprising precision, she threw one blade, hilt first, at each of the Konoha shinobi. Naruto's allies caught the weapons easily. 'Nyoko' shot the criminal a familiar smirk, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"A Shadow Clone?" one of the bandits reacted, "He's a ninja!"
"You idiot, they're all ninja!" another of the kidnappers panicked, and ran for the door. But Lee was quicker, and the deserter fell. Acting in unison, the Ino-Shika-Cho team herded the hostages into one of the corners.
"Naruto, the other students?" Yugao asked.
"My clones freed them all. They're safe. Only a few minor injuries."
"And Nyoko?" Sakura prompted.
"She's okay. She's with the two best bodyguards I could conjure."
"... and then this idiot asked when we were going to get snacks," Gamakichi told her. Nyoko stifled a giggle.
"Lay off, I was only 6 months old," the light colored toad grumbled.
"So was I," the redder amphibian pointed out.
Nyoko was in the lobby with the two summoned toads, each the size a large pony. Surrounded them were six alert Naruto duplicates.
"Is it true the Aunt Tsunade used Gamabunta's sword?" she asked...
"Remember me?" Naruto tapped the giant on the shoulder.
"I'll kill you runt," the crook started to turn to confront the younger warrior, "I am master Bunjiro's strongest apprentice."
"RASENGAN!" as his opponent faced him; Naruto thrust the roiling sphere into his mid-section. The big man shot away from the Genin, spiraling head over foot, until he crashed hard into the wall. The villainous lieutenant slid to the ground, and did not stand again.
With all of his men defeated, Bunjiro faced the Konoha shinobi. He panned his eyes across them, and then erupted in a sardonic laugh. He pulled his sword, scabbard and all, over his shoulder, and held it ready to draw, all but taunting the Leaf Ninja. Not one of them blinked, flinched, or faltered in any way. Finally, the villain made his move.
"Please don't kill me," he begged, throwing down his sword, and dropping to his knees. The Chunin all displayed obvious shock, and Naruto nearly fell over. Only the Jonin remained ready, expecting treachery. But the Hidden Mist renegade started sobbing in fear.
Naruto collected their enemy's weapon. He drew the sword part way from its sheath. The edge was chipped and rusted.
"This is the legendary Souhi?" the blond youth asked in confusion and dismay.
"No," Kaede stated, after Tenten freed her, "And that is not Bunjiro Egureru."
She grabbed the whimpering man, and demanded, "Who are you?"
As her words sank in, the would-be kidnapper's face seemed to melt.
"Bunjiro Egureru?" he rambled, "You thought I was? If he ever finds out, he'll kill me. Please don't tell him."
"Your name," Kaede seemed torn between anger and pity.
"I... I'm Bunjiro Akaikazunoko," he said quickly. Kaede dropped him and produced her copy of the Bingo Book. After flipping through the list of criminals, she let out a sigh.
"Bunjiro Akaikazunoko, rogue ninja from Kirigakure," she read out loud, "Rank Genin. After barely passing the graduation exam on his seventh attempt, Akaikazunoko was caught shoplifting a pack of cigarettes, and fled the village. Considered a D-rank criminal deviant."
"WHAT?" Naruto shouted angrily, "After all that, this guy's just some small fry?"
He rounded on Kaede, "You said he was one of those Bent Swords!"
"Our intel said a dangerous criminal named Bunjiro, with a two-handed sword, was gathering a small army. We never thought to check any other Bunjros," she shrugged in defeat, "He did try to ransom your princess. And a rogue is a rogue. Though I'm sure the Mizukage will be disappointed..."
"No, I won't go back," the thief rose to his feet, aiming a kukri dagger at Kaede's chest. She effortlessly disarmed him, and then knocked him unconscious with a single uppercut. She groaned in annoyance, and retrieved the ninja manacles. She tightened them severely around his wrists, then turned to face her allies.
"So much as I'd like to hang around, I really need to get back," the Mist huntress lifted her prisoner with ease, "My people need to know that Egureru is still out there. And I can't wait to get rid of this worm."
"Yugao, it was almost as much fun as last time," she gave the former ANBU member a two-fingered salute. Deciding she did not want to carry him, she dropped Bunjro to the ground and dragged him towards the door.
As she exited, she looked back and offered, "And I'll be seeing you in a few weeks, Naruto."
"Wha... Why?" he stuttered at her abrupt statement.
"Well, the Hidden Mist Village is hosting the Chunin exams next month. I would assume you're tired of being behind the rest of your friends..."
Before he could retort, she was gone.
Though both Nyoko's class and the Land of Water class stayed until morning the other five schools quickly packed and left. And as soon as the sun crested the horizon, Kaede's 'group' loaded their bus and drove off. Except for Nyoko, the remaining Land of Fire civilians were also ready to quit the resort; but their transportation, and the additional guards with it, had not returned. The two Jonin stayed with them, giving the princess and the teen warriors one last day to play. But the day went by far too fast, and by mid-afternoon, a quartet of very large guards escorted Nyoko to their bus. They did not even give her time to change out of her bikini.
"Naruto," the princess opened her window, "Think about my offer."
"What offer?" Sakura's voice was dangerous as the bus pulled away.
"She... asked me to be her personal bodyguard?"
"You're lying, Naruto!" the red-head was half-annoyed, half-amused, "What did she offer you?"
After dinner, Naruto slipped away. When Hinata noticed he was missing, she went to find him. It did not take her long. The normally hyper Genin was sitting on the beach, staring up at the stars.
"May I join you?" she asked quietly.
"Oh, hi Hinata," he looked over at her, startled, "Sure."
She did not sit down, but stood next to him.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Not wrong," he said, "I was just thinking, tomorrow we go home. My first vacation is almost over."
"And how was it?"
"Well, I don't really have anything to compare to," he considered, "but I had a lot of fun and got to try all kinds of beach sports. How about you? Did you get to do everything you wanted to?"
She paused for a second, and then answered honestly, "Mostly. Though I had been hoping to watch the meteor shower with you..."
Naruto grinned apologetically, then brightened, "Well, they may not be falling, we can look at these stars together."
She was surprised by his offer, and her reaction in turn made him nervous.
"Come on, sit down," he said gently. The kunoichi nodded, and slowly descended to the sand. With deliberate precision, she accidentally put her hand over his. This time he did not pull away. Instead, he shuffled hand so their fingers were intertwined.