章 17: Chapter 14
Yoshino looked around the Hidden Cloud: This was not his first visit in the village, but he had never come here looking for a talk with the Raikage. The last time he was here, he had been looking for survivors of the Uzumaki clan. He hadn't found anyone who'd ended up wandering into this aggressive village that loved power and bloodlines with everything. They would not get their hands on Uzumaki though.
Not now and certainly not when the current emperor reigned supreme over all the Uzumaki.
He was certain though; this was not going to be a pleasant conversation with Ai. But it still had to be done. He had been sent to deal with the outcome of Kumogakure's little adventure in the Wave Country. Sighing tiredly, Yoshino stepped deeper into the village, heading towards the Raikage tower, flanked by two shinobi who had insisted on walking him and would have certainly used force to take him to the Raikage's office had he not made some force of his own.
By the time they arrived at the office, Yoshino realized the man was armed and ready to attack. The office had a couple of shinobi and a sensor Naoki had mentioned was with Yugito before the attack. He was glad he was a clone. Otherwise, he was unlikely to leave this place. Why had the emperor sent him when he knew this? He shook his head, perhaps it was some sadistic sense by the man to make him sweat over this meeting and to entice Kumogakure as well as have some reasons on why they should be enemies with the Cloud. All moves were usually calculated, unless the reason for doing things was simply convenience.
"I have been trying to get one of you Uzumaki for some years now," the Yondaime Raikage started in a flat tone. "I didn't think that you'd actually walk in the village like this."
"Circumstances force me to be here," Yoshino said in a quiet tone. "My name is Yoshino Uzumaki; I am the leader of Uzushiogakure. I have been sent by his Majesty to talk to you about what has happened to Yugito."
"We have nothing to talk about if you are not going to bring her back," Ai said in a stern tone.
Yoshino had not expected anything less from the man. He just smiled. "I'm afraid that we are not going to do that. It is possible that she might not even live that long," he explained, eyes staring at the Raikage.
Ai stood up from his chair, glaring heatedly at Yoshino. "Are you saying that you will kill her?"
"She attacked the emperor; Uzushio does not forgive that and nor does it forget," Yoshino said in a hardened tone, matching the Raikage's.
"Emperor?" Ai snorted coldly. "You mean the Kyubi's Jinchuriki? He is just a boy!"
"That is your perception, though for your own future, I implore you to change that thinking. You really do not want to see his Majesty as just a boy – you will not live long enough to regret it," Yoshino stated. The moment those words left his lips, he was hit by a wave of killing intent from all directions. It also appeared that the Raikage was also doing everything he could to stop himself from lunging at him.
"I take that as a threat to my life and we will not respond kindly to that," Ai said with a dose of his killing intent directed towards Yoshino.
Yoshino shrugged carelessly. "Before we step away from the reason I even came here, please allow me to talk, Raikage-sama. I have a question rather…"
"What?" Ai demanded with narrowed eyes.
"Your attempt to get into the Wave Country was not something of chance. It was a planned attack. And the Wave belongs to the Uzumaki Empire. We have a question; was this declaration of war?"
"Does it change anything regarding Yugito? I only want to talk when I know you will be bringing her back. If not, I will lay waste to Uzushiogakure."
Yoshino narrowed his eyes dangerously. The change of atmosphere was noted by everyone in the room. The man did not address the threat to destroy his village nevertheless. "It changes nothing really. The moment Yugito decided to challenge the emperor, her life was to forfeit. She will not be returned. Not now, not ever. We own her and if Kumo does try anything, there will be hell to pay. I assure you of this."
Ai would have looked amused by the situation but he grew serious. It was now certain that the Uzumaki were shedding their skins. The calculated redheaded bastards were looking for this. If they didn't want trouble, Yoshino would not say such words to them. "That does sound like a threat," the Raikage said. "This makes things simple for me. You are not going to leave this village. You are the leader of Uzushiogakure, and until we get Yugito, you will be our hostage."
Yoshino laughed upon hearing those words. "Predictable," he said with amusement. "I do apologize, but that will not be happening. Only an idiot would come to you without thinking that you would resort to such methods. We know how Kumogakure operates and we have taken account of it. I shouldn't even be asking if you are declaring war on us… perhaps you could say I am just going through the formalities, but the moment we took Yugito, we were certain that we would have a problem with Kumogakure. Do what you want, but we will be ready, and will not be very forgiving."
After saying those words, the man burst into a cloud of smoke.
"Where did he go?!" A demanded, looking around for C.
C blinked for a moment, expanding his senses. He shook his head. He should have known. These people were not stupid. He had seen it with those two who sat with him and then just let him go like that. They did not fear Kumogakure – that much was certain. Yoshino had come here knowing that they would simply not let him go. This was perhaps a warning to them. "That was possibly a clone… one of those Kage Bunshins the Hidden Leaf uses."
Ai frowned; he was not going to let this go, he was not going to forget this. He settled down. He could not forget that he had Iwagakure to think about. And if they do learn that one of their Jinchuriki has been taken by Uzushiogakure, they were going to grow confident enough to try to attack them. But he could still attack Uzushio without leaving Kumogakure open to any attack. Well, he would just have to play his hand smartly to avoid making careless mistakes. If he moved recklessly, it would be a dangerous situation for his village.
"Should we talk to Iwagakure about this situation?" Mabui asked the Raikage – who was deep in thought. "Without doubt, the Uzumaki have not forgotten about the past and this heavily affects both our villages. From how that man spoke, we can assume that anyone who threatens Uzu will probably be given the same message."
"We don't want Onoki to know about our situation," A said in a firm tone. "However, surely, he too would be interested in knowing that Uzushiogakure is not as innocent as it would like us to believe."
Tanzaku no Gai
Naruto was sitting at a corner in a bar, alone with just one bottle in front of him. He hadn't touched it since he came here. Not long ago, he would have already indulged in the alcohol, but now, he had plenty to think about. His eyes sharpened slightly when someone sat across him by the table. "What are you going here, Naoki?" the man was in a henge – looking like a middle aged black haired man wearing civilian clothes but Naruto could tell it was him – he could not mistake the scent of one of his men.
"Why does it sound like I am not welcomed, Your Majesty?" Naoki asked, sitting down.
"That is because you are not welcomed," Naruto said calmly. "I don't recall inviting you."
"And I recall my job to being your guard," Naoki said with a shrug of his shoulders. "In any case, I just came here to give you support. I know you won't need it but I just thought it would give you some assurance if you knew you could be as reckless as you want to be because I will be watching over you," the man said with a smile, urging the emperor to do as he pleased.
Naruto raised an eye brow, looking at Naoki carefully. "What kind of recklessness are you talking about, Naoki?"
"You know, last time you got her drunk and then ended up taking her to her place. This time, you don't have to be careful about anything, you can drink along with her, without being concerned about whether your drinks are poisoned or not. It would be fine if you get drunk as well and end up going with her to her place. I will be watching to ensure that nothing dangerous is done to you," Naoki said before pausing. He turned his eyes behind him and then glanced over at Naruto – he smiled. "The prey as arrived…" he said.
"I thought I was the prey in this situation." Naruto said with a smile.
"Sarcasm doesn't do you any justice, Your Majesty," Naoki said before standing up.
Naruto merely shook his head and then turned to face Kurotsuchi as she walked towards him with a smile he could tell was nervous. He didn't mind it; he just smiled and pointed at the seat Naoki had just vacated before speaking. "You have certainly become even more so of a beautiful woman since the last time I saw you, friend," he said the last word purposefully and as smoothly and normal as he could.
Kurotsuchi stared at Naruto for a long minute; he has changed, he really did look manlier now and there was a certain aura about him. Last time the only thing you got from him was just indifference. But now she could sense something. She could sense power. He was certainly a man who called himself the emperor alright. She gathered her thoughts quietly before addressing the blond. "Friends? Last time I checked, friends don't lie to each other."
Naruto raised an eye brow and tilted his head to the side. "I lied to you?" He asked.
"You didn't tell me that you were Uzushio's emperor!" Kurotsuchi snapped.
Naruto kept his brow up before raising an index finger while wagging it slowly. "I don't remember lying to you. I just didn't tell you about it," he said as a matter of fact. "You seem to struggle with that but did you really expect me to spill the beans on everything that I do and am?"
Kurotsuchi stared at Naruto for a long moment with a frown on her lips; he was going to give her that kind of excuse? It was indeed true that he had never lied to her about it but he did say that he didn't have anything to do with the Uzumaki clan. And he had also given her the impression that he was nothing but just a normal shinobi of the Hidden Leaf. She had been misled. If she'd truly thought deeply about it, she would have expressed her anger but she did not. She was not here for such things but to try to kill him. He was truly open for her to make any move but she was not going to take a chance.
"You misled me – that is without doubt," Kurotsuchi said after a couple of moments of silence.
Naruto didn't deny this – he actually nodded his head. "Yes; I did do that. I have misled a couple of people in this life of mine. Perhaps one mistake I did was not willing to divulge certain things to other people because I believed that they could understand. An error on my part – not everyone thinks like you. I should know this, but I still continued to think otherwise," he said with a slight shake of his head.
"That sounds a little personal," Kurotsuchi said in a curious tone.
Naruto smiled sadly, but he didn't respond to Kurotsuchi's statement. "You wanted to see me; I assume that it has everything to do about my status as Uzushio's Emperor and how that affects Iwagakure. You have always put your village before everything and surely now, you have not come here because you are concerned for me…" he paused for a moment before asking. "Did you cry upon my death?"
Kurotsuchi refused to comment on the last part. "Your position is the reason I called you but when you spoke about friendship, you already knew what I did not know. You wanted something from me," she said with a stare. "The question though is; what did you want from me, Naruto?"
"I didn't want anything from you," Naruto responded in a firm tone. When Kurotsuchi just stared at him, he spoke once more. "What? Is there something you think you can offer me?"
Kurotsuchi blinked; she did not expect to hear something like that from the blond. She held herself from saying something that would give her away. She then raised her right hand, waving it without looking at the bar. But she had given the signal. "Perhaps there is nothing but Uzushio and Iwagakure are not allies and given the past, there is no doubt that there is some enmity between the two villages."
"The past does make up for an uncomfortable reading of the present with Iwagakure being part of a group of villages that decided to destroy my village despite no threat whatsoever." Naruto paused, staring at Kurotsuchi curiously. "What would you do if that were you? You assured me you'd kill me if I was an enemy of Iwagakure; should I not be angry and try to do the same thing that you want to do to me; if you are a threat of course."
Kurotsuchi shrugged. "I would expect nothing else from a shinobi," she said with cold indifference. "We always want to protect what is ours. The only right in this world is acting in the best interests of your village. If you threaten my village; you must be dealt with. Naturally, if you also feel threatened by us, you'll also try to crush us."
"So, it is a world where the strong get what they want…" Naruto smiled at this. "If you wouldn't hesitate to kill those who are enemies of your village, why do you come to hate those who bring trouble to your village?"
A couple of bottles were brought to them by a barman. Naruto didn't waste time getting into the drinking contest. Kurotsuchi wanted him to get drunk. He would indulge her and see what she wanted to do. No, he already knew what she wanted to do to him. He was just playing the role she wanted him to play.
"You have to be angry if someone precious to you is killed!"
"Then you give me the right to be angry over what Iwagakure did to my village," Naruto stated in a calm tone. "Even now, I cannot say that Iwa isn't a threat. No, that doesn't matter; you already destroyed our village before, even though we did nothing against you. You could do it again, and we have not even received any apology for the sins of the past."
Kurotsuchi frowned deeply; if there had been doubt before, it had been dispelled by those words from Naruto. She had to kill him. "An apology, huh?" She put on a thoughtful look on her face. "What would it change?"
"Nothing," Naruto words came out a bit coldly. "But it goes some way to say that you regret what you did and you should not have done it. Of course, words are meaningless without actions to back them up. And superficial apologies are truly bothersome," he said with narrowed eyes.
Admitting that they were wrong? Kurotsuchi had not been there but she knew Iwagakure had no regrets over its actions. As long as they did what they felt was best for their village, there would be no complaints from the village and they would fight anyone who says otherwise.
Kurotsuchi took a bottle and took a sip before speaking once more. "What about our friendship? You offered that once even when you knew how things would end up… does your offer stand? If we could work out something between us we could end up saving lives from being lost in a situation where Uzushio and Iwagakure have to fight. I know my village views yours as a threat because of what happened in the past. But my friendship with you could dispel that."
Naruto smiled upon hearing those words and then took a large gulp before slamming the bottle on the table – it cracked slightly. "Then let us talk about our friendship," he said with a smile on his lips.
Five Hours Later
It was already late; the night birds were already singing. Kurotsuchi was helping Naruto in the slow streets within the town, heading towards the hotel she had booked for herself. The emperor had no problems with gulping large amounts of alcohol. She had not even attempted to do any competition with him knowing that she would not win. She had built up her tolerance after the humiliation of the last time she was drinking with Naruto but competition was still not something she was going to do.
After arriving at her room, Kurotsuchi helped Naruto on the bed. She watched the blond shift slightly, his eyes barely opened. She stared at the blond for a moment; he really did look out of it and smelled with Alcohol. She hadn't thought that things would come to this point so simply.
Kurotsuchi smiled; she was getting this done. She was going to kill the emperor of Uzushiogakure. Her grandfather was going to be proud.
She stepped over the blond, sat on him gently and ran her hand over his face. Harmless. It was ludicrous. But she was going to end the Emperor of Uzushiogakure. This was for the sake of her village. Kurotsuchi allowed a kunai dipped with poison to slip into her fingertips. But she did not stab him immediately – she stared into his face for a long moment.
Naruto stirred slightly and she pressed the kunai on the bed before leaning closer to his face. She hated this part. But she still needed to do it. She had to. Her lips brushed against his. The warmth of her breath seemed to jolt him to life and he responded to the kiss. Kurotsuchi did not allow it to distract her. Her right hand moved slowly towards the side of his neck. She was going to stab him. She was going to poison him. Even if the stab was not deep, the poison would finish him.
Kurotsuchi suddenly halted when she felt a firm hand gripping her right arm. Her heart beat increased as her eyes snapped towards Naruto's.
"You really plan to kill me," it was Naruto's voice that startled the black haired kunoichi. She forced herself away from the blond jumped away from the bed but she had left her kunai behind.
Naruto got up from the bed and sat up, eyes staring at the Kunoichi. "I knew this was your plan and played along for merely convenience."
Kurotsuchi frowned deeply, staring at the blond with cold eyes. "You tricked me into thinking you were drunk," she spat venomously.
"Not particularly," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. "I could have sent a clone to do the drinking for me but I chose to drink because it was more interesting that way. That aside, I did need to catch you in the act so that I would have no guilt over what will happen to you."
Those words; it made her realize that she was dealing with a dangerous person. He had surely come here knowing that she wanted to kill him. At this point, she was even starting to think that he had planned for this to happen. She took a step back, readying hand signs in case he made the wrong move. "What do you mean what will happen to me?"
Naruto waved his right hand, "you'll find out about that eventually," he said carelessly. "Naoki," he called.
The Uzumaki flashed right behind Kurotsuchi. When she sensed his presence, she could do nothing to stop the chains that had managed to wrap themselves around her. Kurotsuchi felt her heart pound. The emotion she felt was fear. It was not so much as the fate that awaited her but the person behind her made her afraid – so much more than Naruto. She could not see him, but she sensed him and her hair stood up. This was not a friend – this was an enemy to be feared. Before she knew it, she could not move. She glared at Naruto – who was staring at her with indifference.
"You bastard! My grandfather will not let this pass if you don't let me go. He will destroy Uzushio!"
Naruto just smiled and walked towards her. "It is much amusing when a rat backed into a corner tries to bark threats." He said in an amused tone. "But don't worry, I expect Onoki to attack but he shall surely die. It might not be in the first engagement but it shall surely happen."
A realization dawned on Kurotsuchi and she widened her eyes but before she could say anything, a hand slipped over her mouth.
"Given the tension on her body, it appears she has discovered our purpose, Your Majesty," Naoki said with a smile.
"Irrelevant," Naruto said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He placed his right hand on Kurotsuchi's shoulder and they disappeared in a flash. They appeared inside the throne room. "Take her to meet her new friend and call Yoshino for me…" he said walking towards his throne.
"Hai," Naoki said before disappearing along with the bound Kurotsuchi.
Three minutes later, Yoshino appeared in the throne room. He did not get on his knees but walked closer to Naruto before speaking. "Is it done?"
Naruto nodded. "We have the required pieces we need to get both Kumogakure and Iwa to make their moves. History will certainly favor us. They attacked us and we had every reason to capture them. Bullies cannot be allowed to do all they want without punishment," he said with a smile.
"Our world has a history of only remembering the winners." Yoshino reminded.
"That is because they are the ones who write history. In this generation and the next, the Uzumaki will rewrite history and write new chapters to the chronicles of shinobi." Naruto said in a firm tone. "Take the ship and head to Iwagakure to deliver the message."
"Yes; Your Majesty." Yoshino said he turned to leave before twisting around to speak. "There is also a certain visitor from the Hidden Leaf who wishes to see you."
Naruto tried to figure out who would want to see him from the Hidden and then when he could not think of a specific name, he asked. "Who?"
"Shikamaru Nara," Yoshino said. "Given his curious mind, I had kept him away and was planning to send him back to Konoha without even talking to him. But given that he isn't here because the Leaf has sent him, I thought you might be interested in seeing him."
"What damage could be done by seeing him?"
"Nothing much; His Majesty is good at keeping things to himself and unless you decide to let in on certain things, Shikamaru will not discover anything. However, it is likely that he came here because he has his suspicions on certain things and has come here to confirm." Yoshino said.
Naruto was silent for a moment before waving his right hand. "I will indulge him," he said.
"Yes; Your Majesty," Yoshino saluted before disappearing from the throne room.
It took about ten minutes for Shikamaru to arrive in the throne and when he did, Naruto stared at him with an expressionless mask. The Nara had a look that clearly said that this was troublesome but he could not afford not to be here. "I was surprised when I learned that you were here to see me. I generally got along with you, but we were not friends."
"That is because you avoided me," Shikamaru said in a measured tone.
Naruto simply shrugged. "Then, how might I be of service?"
"I know you are a busy person and with what is going on around this village, I am certain that there is much for you to do. I do however think that there will be major changes to the shinobi world very soon," the Nara said in a stern tone. "I know there will be battles soon, and it will be because the Uzumaki want it to happen. The state of the shinobi world determines just how safe Konoha is…"
"And your duty is Konoha," Naruto said in a flat tone. "You people think in a fundamentally wrong way; that is why you continue to do things in the wrong way. You always think about your village before everything, and disregard all the evil you to others."
"I will admit that the way shinobi think is flawed and perhaps it is what results in conflicts being handled through bloodshed battles that only up defining two things; a winner and the loser. But we cannot deny that we think first about what we love the most before anything else. Yet, that does not excuse putting others in danger simply because we want to protect what we love. Perhaps what shinobi lack is the moral sense of what is right and wrong."
"Perhaps?" Naruto shook his head. "You just lack it. It's not something you need to think about."
"You? What about you, Your Majesty?" Shikamaru posed the question to Naruto.
Instead of responding to Shikamaru, Naruto spoke. "I find it curious that someone who has never shown any interest in taking a lead over anything would come here," Naruto said to Shikamaru with a raised eye brow. "You find this troublesome and yet you came here…"
Shikamaru would not deny that he had hit himself at the thought of coming here. It was indeed a troublesome situation but he still had to do it because some people didn't seem to understand the danger. "I was speaking to my father about you and the Uzumaki. The one question I had about this was why you have nothing against Konoha. Any rational person will ask this question. You should have reasons to resent Konoha. And I would understand those reasons."
"But you'd still try to stop me from doing something."
Shikamaru smiled. There was no question about that. He was still a Konoha shinobi and he could not just watch someone try to destroy it. "The Uzumaki… your childhood. You have every reason, yet why did you tell Konoha that you have nothing against it."
"It would have been reasonable if I told them that I loathed Konoha, wouldn't it?" Naruto asked. "But at the same time, it would have made me an enemy of the Hidden Leaf."
"I don't generally think you have a problem with that," Shikamaru said in a firm tone. "But I also think you don't want to face all Great Nations because you probably wouldn't survive. Even if you do, I doubt this village would remain standing. Even so, the reason I got up is because I see what is going to happen. And I am certain that even if you have said you have nothing against Konoha, you won't hesitate to turn against us if we stand in the way."
"Of course," Naruto said.
"I have watched you since the academy days. My father understands the situation way better than both Tsunade and Jiraiya-sama seem to grasp. We are both aware of the danger. It is our understanding that you probably made an agreement with the Sandaime Hokage. I think that is why you won't attack the Leaf. But there is a condition." Shikamaru smiled weakly. "The fact that you managed to hold an agreement with the Professor which he was seemingly unable to get away from means that you have a frightening mind."
Naruto was silent for a couple of moments before shaking his head. "I don't have that kind of genius. You are smarter than me. I was actually afraid of the Sandaime." He said calmly. "You are here because your father sent you… what does Shikaku want?"
"My father thinks you are not going to talk to both the Godaime Hokage and Jiraiya-sama about anything because of how close they were to you… He sent me here to form a communication line with Konoha. We want to understand your goals and find a way that we can co-exist without war," Shikamaru stated. "Of course, when I get back to Konoha, we will discuss things with the Godaime Hokage."
"Oh, you want to play politics?" Naruto said with a smile. "You have already said you know what is going to happen. Then there is no need for me to say anything. Just go back to your village you'll know when the time is right for us to talk. When that happens, I will indulge you."
"I have your word?"
"Yes; you have my word," Naruto said before closing both his eyes. "It would be most pleasant if you could work with Temari."
Iwagakure
There was no laughing at Kumogakure's misfortune over the loss of their Jinchuriki. Onoki had managed to attain this information and yet he could not laugh. He could do nothing about it because the cursed village that struck the Cloud had also struck his. His beloved granddaughter had been taken away by Uzushiogakure and they had murdered everyone he had sent her with. Those cold bastards were merciless. He had been afraid that something would happen to her. But he had shrugged off those thoughts. They would do nothing to her. Not when he was still alive.
If so much of a hair was touched, he would burn Uzushiogakure down to the ground and this time around, he would ensure there were no survivors – he would ensure every one of them Uzumaki was buried six feet under the ground.
The Sandaime Tsuchikage's eyes snapped up when an Uzumaki was brought before him. The man was being manhandled and yet he had an unconcerned look on his face. It was not the indifferent look of Naruto – this was just a look that infuriated you. "I have been waiting for you," Onoki said as he leaned against his chair.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting," Yoshino said in an apologetic tone. "I had other important matters to handle before thinking of coming here."
Onoki glared. This was not that important that he could not drop anything? This was infuriating but he held himself from turning the man into dust. "I see you decided to bring your airship with you but that isn't of concern to me."
"I imagine you are most concerned about your granddaughter," Yoshino said.
Onoki nodded. "If you didn't come with her, you are not leaving this office and even if you leave, just know that until I get her back, Uzu and everything related to it is not safe from me. I will destroy everything until you give her back."
"We don't take kindly to threats made to our village, Tsuchikage," Yoshino warned in a dangerous tone. "Kurotsuchi may or may not be alive. She attempted to kill our Emperor. Such an offence is punished by death. If you want her to live, you will die in her place."
For a moment, Onoki laughed at this joke before standing on his chair. He held his hands together. "Give me one reason I shouldn't just kill you now."
"Uzu has your granddaughter and we are not afraid to snap her neck," Yoshino said with a snap of his fingers. "We will not give her back. She has become a property of Uzu and she will remain so until the Emperor decides whether she lives or returns home. If you want to fight us over it, you are welcome to do so."
"You are no longer hiding the fact that you want war," Onoki said in a stern tone. "Uzushiogakure will be destroyed. You have already pissed off the Cloud. You will face your end. Well, I wouldn't complain either way."
Yoshino shook his head. "I pity you," he said in a quiet tone. "You are very experienced and yet remain full of yourself. Are you really the same person who had this village enter a cease-fire with Konoha in the last war? You underestimate us. And you will surely pay for it… with your life." Yoshino disappeared in a puff of smoke after saying those words.
"It is war," Onoki said sternly.
But how was he going to go about this? Kumo would surely want to take part in this. Uzu had taken their Jinchuriki. If Iwa attacked, they would take the Jinchuriki for themselves. He had to send a message to the Raikage and they would talk about this. They would make a plan about dealing with Uzushio and deal with it they would.
It was indeed a time for war.
Uzushiogakure
Kurotsuchi had a long frown on her lips, bruises over her body, and some blood. She had been beat up a bit – they had said. That sadistic woman had said it was nothing. There would be more pain to come. Kurotsuchi would not say anything about her village – nothing at all. They could cut off her limbs if they wanted but she would protect her village against all threats. And these people. She was thrown into a cell with another woman there. She immediately recognized her as the Jinchuriki from Kumogakure. But unlike her, she didn't appear to have been roughed up a bit – she looked perfectly fine.
Kurotsuchi took her corner and glanced at Yugito for a moment before staring at her hands. How did things even get to this point? She had been certain that she would kill him but now she was locked up in a prison cell, and would be a puppet for someone's amusement. If she does manage to escape, she was going to personally mutilate that woman. No, she would get out of here. Her grandfather would come for her.
"It is useless to think about escaping," Yugito suddenly said to Kurotsuchi.
The black haired Jonin's eyes snapped towards the blonde Jinchuriki. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that unless they let you out, you can't leave. Your chakra is sealed, but you should still be able to use your senses," Yugito said.
Kurotsuchi stretched her senses and then frowned deeply. She could not feel anything aside from the woman beside her. She could not feel the world around her. "What is this place?" She demanded from Yugito.
Yugito shrugged and closed her eyes.
Kurotsuchi bit her lip from cursing the Jinchuriki. If she didn't think the woman would be needed for an escape, she would have cursed her right there. But she did not want to burn bridges now. Not when she was still locked up and could not even tell where she was. The bastards had kept her blindfolded whenever she was moved.
"How long have you been here?"
"More than a week," Yugito said without looking at Kurotsuchi. "What did you do to them?"
Kurotsuchi realized the woman was asking her about the bruises she had. "I tried to kill the emperor." She said bitterly. "What did…" she trailed off when she sensed something.
Naruto was by the unguarded steel bars that kept the two locked up. He opened the cell and then stepped in. "Good day, my prisoners," he greeted with a smile.
Kurotsuchi lunged towards him like a bullet, with her right punch aimed at his face. Naruto simply caught the punch and held it firmly before slamming a brutal left punch on her gut. Kurotsuchi dropped to her knees, clutching it while coughing.
Naruto ignored her and then walked towards Yugito. He settled besides her, leaning against the wall. "Just this once, I'll sit with you," he said calmly. "I do apologize for not coming to see you after you were brought here. I have been a little busy."
"Apparently," Yugito said with a look towards Kurotsuchi.
"Ah, her…" Naruto smiled. "She requested a meeting with me in a disguised attempt to kill me. But I'll be honest; I had planned for this to happen. I figured such actions would spur both your villages to make a movement. I planned nothing for you, but when you appeared, I could not just let you be…"
"It doesn't explain why she was tortured," Yugito said.
"Tortured?" Naruto looked amused. "No, no, my dear; she hasn't been tortured. She was just roughed up a bit to see if she can experience pain…" he said with a smile.
Kurotsuchi had to freeze upon hearing those words. She crawled away from the two blonds and then glared at Naruto. "You can do whatever you want but I will not tell you anything."
Naruto shook his head. "You are mistaken," he said. "Your pain will not be an attempt to get you to talk. If we want you to talk, you will talk. Guren is just a sadistic woman who likes pain in the eyes of other people. And I permitted it because you get to live. We normally kill everyone who tries to kill me."
The simple way in which he said those last words made Kurotsuchi realized she was dealing with a person who would not blink when killing people. He didn't even seem to care about anything. "How fortunate I am that I get to keep my life," she said sarcastically.
"She is an angry bitter woman, isn't she?" Naruto said to Yugito.
Yugito not figure this person out. He was the Emperor and yet he was sitting in a cell with her. She hadn't even been asked anything since she was brought here. "She was tortured and you just told her there will be worse."
"She tried to kill me," Naruto responded in a flat tone.
"And that should make her feel comfortable?"
Naruto shook his head. "It should make her feel grateful that she only gets to experience a bit of pain. I had not done anything bad to her and yet, she sat with her grandfather and decided that I needed to be killed."
"You'll still die!" Kurotsuchi said confidently. "My grandfather will not let this go until I am brought back and this village is destroyed."
"We suffer for nothing," Naruto said with a shake of his head. Those words from Kurotsuchi just spelled out everything that was wrong with this world. Those who were powerful could do everything they want and get away with it. Iwa had to kill him and yet when he stops the attack and tries to punish the one who tried to attack him, he must be the one to suffer. "This world is just wrong. But then again, I have been able to move around because it is flawed. So, I can't complain."
"For nothing?" Kurotsuchi scoffed. "You just admitted to have planned for such things to occur. You can't blame us if your plans fail to succeed."
Naruto shook his head. "You misunderstand something," he said. "I may have planned for such things to occur but I did not manipulate you into doing anything. It was your choice and nature that led you to this position."
Kurotsuchi glared at the blond. She had done nothing but act in the best interest of her village. She had been trying to ensure that things work well in her village's favor. No one could fault her for that. "You are not going to let me go?" She asked in a subdued tone.
Naruto shook his head. "Not now at least," he said. "You'll just have to suffer a bit more before we decide on what must be done to you. We have already spoken to both your villages; they have declared war and neither of you will form part of it…" he said before turning to Yugito. "I actually came to see if you were being cared for."
Yugito raised an eye brow at this. "Why do you care; I am here because of your orders…" she said.
"I don't hate you," Naruto said calmly. "My visit to Kumogakure was fruitful because of you and you are a fellow Jinchuriki – I don't mean for you to suffer any more than you have already. If I didn't think you'd try to escape, I'd let you live normally. Perhaps that is something for the near future," he said before standing up.
"Why am I being locked up then?"
"It's quite simple," Naruto said. "I just need to ensure that Kumogakure is slightly weakened. And I want you to become a kunoichi of Uzushiogakure." He said while walking towards the exit. "As for you," he said, addressing Kurotsuchi. "Once your grandfather is dead, and Iwagakure is conquered, you might be freed. Well, things could change and you might join Onoki in death."
Kurotsuchi spat out. But she was very much aware that Naruto held her life in his hands. It was apparent; he didn't give a cent about her and would kill her if it suited him. "And to think you wanted to become my friend."
Naruto laughed upon hearing those words. "Aren't you the one who called me to talk about friendship and then attempted to kill me? To tell you the truth, if you had not attempted to kill me, I wouldn't have done anything to you. We would have just talked and then go our separate ways."
"I find that hard to believe given all you have said."
Naruto shrugged. "Decisions were made based on character. I ascertained something when I met you; you'll try to destroy anything you think is a threat to Iwagakure and you'll betray friends if it means securing your village. My meeting with you was even by chance… I guess I must thank Jiraiya for it…"
Konohagakure
How did things even get to this point? Shikamaru breathed in tiredly as he looked around the Hokage office. He should not have listened to his father. He should have not even spoken to Naruto. If he hadn't gone to Uzushiogakure, he would not have been in this position – he would have been at home, sleeping or just sitting outside getting some fresh air. But because he just had to be concerned, he was in this situation that was going to get him to move around the village and outside – a bothersome mission of being a diplomat.
Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke. He hasn't been seeing much of the Uchiha in recent months. The Uchiha was hardly even in the village but when he was around and the people saw him, they had the tendency to treat him like he was their lord or something. Perhaps it was the fear that Naruto would be coming after them. He was a Jinchuriki and they knew what they had done to him. They feared he might come back to haunt them. Their savior was the Sharingan. It was ridiculous but after speaking to the Emperor, Shikamaru didn't think Konoha had to worry about an attack from Naruto.
"Temari gave me her report and she told me that Uzushio has no interest in forming an alliance with Konoha and they also laughed at our attempts to offer protection from both Kumogakure and Iwagakure," Tsunade said to the people in the office. "What made you think that you could achieve something when it is apparent that they have no interest in Konoha?"
"Logically speaking, Uzushio shouldn't have a problem with forming an alliance with us despite the past," Shikaku started in a slow tone.
"And it is a past that they have not forgotten," Jiraiya added grimly, thinking about what Temari had said.
"Yes, but they are facing two Great Nations and none of the other Great Nations are going to help them in the war, which means that they plan on fighting themselves if they refuse help. I thought given the situation, they would act cautiously and accept our help, but they have refused – which means Naruto believes that they can win," Shikaku said.
"Naruto isn't the arrogant person who likes to believe that he can defeat anyone he faces, and the fact that he thinks he can win a battle between him and two great nations is frightening," Shikamaru gave his own cents. "Although he wants nothing to do with Konoha, I don't think the door is closed. From what he said to me, there could be a future."
Jiraiya stared at the Nara for a long moment before asking. "Why in the future?"
"Because whatever they are going to do, they want us to stay away. It is likely that they know we won't agree to some of their actions, hence their refusal to ally with us. I suspect that Naruto will only open that channel once they are done with what they want to achieve," Shikamaru explained lightly.
"And if we stand in the way?" Sasuke asked.
"They will try to remove us," Shikamaru said in a slightly firm tone. "While Naruto has no intentions for war with Konoha, if we seek it, he will act on it."
"I had those thoughts in mind when I decided that Shikamaru should go to Uzushio," Shikaku said. "We already know that Uzu has both Kurotsuchi and Kumo's Jinchuriki and by the looks of things, they are not going to give them back. Kumo and Iwa are probably plotting for Uzushio's downfall. The only issue that remains is that they are wary of each other."
Jiraiya nodded to this. "Neither wants to make the first move in fear of the other taking advantage of it. Obviously, they are going to send a bigger force to Uzushio. They would need to be in the same page for either to make a move," he said. "Amegakure will probably play an important role in derailing Iwa's march. I assume Uzu's forces will deal with Kumogakure."
Uzushiogakure and Amegakure were in the same group – there was no doubt about that. Nagato's power was still something that bothered him because Jiraiya could not figure it out. But both Nagato and Konan were S-ranked shinobi. You did not have to forget that the Akatsuki had other S-rank members. It was going to be a difficult situation that would not be as easy as the Raikage and Tsuchikage thought. "If the other Uzumaki are like Kushina, then the power of Jinchirikis becomes irrelevant," he added with a deep frown.
"We don't have to be concerned about that," Sasuke was quick to say. "If things come to it, I will face Naruto. How certain are that if he does manage to win against both Kumo and Iwa, he will not come to us?"
Tsunade frowned deeply upon hearing those words. There was no guarantee that things wouldn't come to that point. She hoped that they would not. "There is no assurance and there is nothing but just Naruto's word. We can't take his word, but we have done everything to prepare for war. If the worst case scenario does occur, we will defend the Leaf!" The Godaime Hokage said in a hardened tone.
Shikamaru didn't think things would come to that point, but he did not voice his thoughts. He just went silent and allowed the leaders to talk about their business. Well, it didn't hurt being prepared for anything. The problem with Naruto was that nobody seemed to know what he was thinking and that was a major problem. If you could not determine what he was thinking, there was no way they were going to predict his movements.
Wave Country
"You have never even once asked why we did not revive Zabuza but only brought you back," Naruto said standing in front of where Zabuza had been buried. Yoshino had also dug up Haku from this place before the rebirth ritual was performed.
"I figured he was not needed," Haku said. Honestly, he had been saddened that his master had not been brought back from the dead.
"There is that," Naruto said in thought. "You have not regretted your second life, I would hope. Zabuza lived his life the way he wanted. I thought perhaps it would be excellent to have you. That aside, you were a pleasant person when we met. I spoke to Yoshino said 'you really have to bring that person back to life.'"
"My only regret was not being as useful as I could have been to Zabuza-sama. But I enjoy my current life. I have been living it for a couple of years now. Any regrets would just make me miserable," Haku said with a small smile on his lips.
Naruto looked up for a moment. Yes, they had still been rebuilding when he came here for that mission. There was still much that needed to be done. Had he not found a village with people, he would not have been able to do what he wanted to do. He turned his eyes behind when he sensed a powerful presence. He then smiled seeing Kisame – just the person he wanted to see.
"You made it," Naruto said to Kisame with a smile on his lips.
"I didn't seem like a I had a choice," Kisame responded casually, yet still grinning as he moved closer to both Naruto and Haku.
Naruto shook his head. "You could have refused to come… its not like I could have just forced you to come here. But given that you were Itachi's partner, I'm certain you shared a couple of things with him… that might have contributed to your decision to come here and my decision to call you here."
Kisame grinned hearing Samehada's giggles. The sword was even drooling. It was the massive pools of chakra from the blond. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was a Jinchuriki. Kisame could not sense it but his sword could and Itachi had said that the blond's chakra levels were ridiculous. He'd never been this close. Samehada was confirming it.
The former Kiri nin gripped the handle of his sword firmly. He was thinking about swinging it towards Naruto but he held himself. He could see what the blond wanted before swinging the sword. "Itachi just could never trust you. He was always cautious about everyone."
"I never did like that side of him," Naruto said in a flat tone. "He was always probing and probing. It annoyed me at times. I'm honestly happy that he is dead."
"But he died on his terms," Kisame said. "He had always planned on dying that way. I just wish he had died on my hand. I'd always wanted to fight him to the death…"
"But you respected his wish," Naruto said with his eyes staring at the grave in front of him. It was something strange. But still honorable and it did say something about Kisame's character and his friendship with Itachi.
"I doubt you called me out to talk about Itachi…" Kisame said without responding to Naruto's statement.
"I'm curious about what he said to you before he died. Surely he said something," Naruto said. "But I called you here because you are the only one who was familiar with Obito and know about Zetsu. You were briefed about what he wanted to achieve with the Akatsuki, no?"
Kisame would not forget that Obito suddenly disappeared a couple of years ago. The other members would not have noticed because they did not know him. But Itachi had known. The Uchiha hadn't given the exact details but he had said Obito was dead. Of course, Itachi hadn't known the true identity but this person in front of him and the Leader knew. They knew. Nagato and the Uzumaki had killed Obito. Zetsu had told him about this. Pain hadn't said anything about it.
"I was told," Kisame said, seeing no reason to hide it since the blond likely knew the answers. "I didn't think that Pain would actually manage to kill him though."
"It was not an easy battle," Naruto said. "Has Zetsu appeared before you?"
"Yes… but only to tell me that Obito was dead," Kisame said.
Naruto frowned. It did look like he wasn't going to get any leads on that plant. It was a problem and he wanted to solve it as quickly as he could. But how could he solve it when he didn't even have a lead? "Disappointing, I thought he might have appeared. I really want him dead."
Haku shook his head. "You shouldn't say such things like that," he said in a stern tone. He cast a glance at Kisame – he was wary. The man looked like he was ready to lunge towards them any moment he saw an opening.
Naruto shrugged. "It is the truth and there is no way I can put it nicely," he said. "So, Kisame; are you still willing to fight for the Akatsuki even though the one who recruited you is dead?"
"And if I no longer plan on fighting for the Akatsuki?"
"We will have to negotiate your release," Naruto said calmly. "But it does please me knowing that you are still around. We have a war coming and your strength will be needed."
Kisame hadn't said he would still continue to fight but the blond had said those words. Perhaps he already knew and was merely asking just because he could. "I could fight, but I do want to see just how strong you are…" he said holding out his sword.
Naruto glanced at the man for a moment before looking away. "That would be interesting but I am not in the mood and it would be pointless. I have no problems with a good sparring session, but this is not the right time. I have to go back to Uzushio…"
"I wasn't planning on giving you an option…" Kisame said before lunging towards Naruto, with his sword swinging through the air. Haku jumped away to create some distance while Naruto twisted around, right hand held out; a long sword appeared in a puff of smoke and he positioned it vertically on his left side. Kisame's sword slammed into the sword mercilessly, but Naruto did not move, not even an inch.
"It isn't really necessary to do this, but perhaps I will indulge you one day," Naruto responded in a measured tone. He then burst into a cloud of smoke.
Kisame turned towards his right and saw the Emperor walking away with Haku. He sighed deeply. "Next time," he said.
"Pain will contact you," Naruto said in response. "You should move towards the borders of Earth Country, nevertheless."
"What does the Uzumaki even want to achieve?"
"You'll find out eventually," Naruto said. "But if that is a condition for you giving your best to the task at hand, you can ask Pain. Maybe he will tell you."
Uzushiogakure
"That was really disappointing," Naruto said as he walked into an office within his compound. The office was spacious but had no windows. The walls were mounted with book shelves. A large desk faced you when entered the office. On the right side, there were five single sofas surrounding a small wooden table. On the left side, there was a crimson couch.
Haku stared at the mountain for paperwork that Naruto had on his desk. The blond focused on sitting on the throne than handling his other administrative duties. It was a problem. There was never a problem about this when he was still wearing a Konoha headband. He watched the blond settle on his comfortable chair before responding. "Considering he knew of Obito and the real mission, I always figured that he would have something."
"So did I," Naruto said in a thoughtful tone. "It takes us back to square one. I'll have to just play the waiting game. It is no fun nevertheless."
"But there is little choice," Haku said.
Naruto nodded. "Indeed," he agreed. "Get me Yoshino. I'll try to sort this desk out and other things before the day ends."
"You plan on sitting here for the rest of the day?"
"Yes; it is important that I do. Besides, if I don't sit here, nothing in our other nations gets done. Yoshino can't do anything because it isn't his responsibility and he does not have the authority." Naruto explained. He paused for a moment before speaking once more. "Bring me a bottle when you do return."
Haku just shook his head and walked away.
With Haku gone, Naruto opened the drawer on his right side and took out a rolled sheet of paper. He closed the drawer and then stood up, walked towards the single sofas. He settled down and unfolded the sheet – it was a map of the shinobi world. It was not just the Elemental Nations but the whole world. There were certain places that were marked. Naruto stared at the map for a couple of moments without shifting until Haku returned with Yoshino.
The man settled across him while Haku placed the bottle he held atop of Naruto's desk. He then joined the two.
"Cloud and Stone are making preparations to meet soon. Neither wants to move before the other makes a move," Naruto said while staring at the map.
"Understandable," Yoshino said with a small nod of his shoulders. "They still have their problems and probably still plan on sorting them out once they are 'done' with us."
"Indeed," Naruto said. "It is a pity that those plans will not succeed. For us, a loss in the war means extinction. It would certainly put a stain on our prestigious name."
There was no room for failure. For them to fail, it meant death. It meant the destruction of their land and everything that they have built. It was not going to work out like that. They had to succeed. They had to win.
"Failure is not an option, otherwise our nation will be raped," Yoshino said.
Naruto glanced at the man with an amused look on his face. It was amusing hearing those words, being put in such a way. "That is a very vulgar way of putting it," he said. But he did not disagree with it. "Have you considered ruling the entire world?"
Haku stared at Naruto while Yoshino just smiled and responded with a smile that did not display any emotion. "I have had such thoughts… but only with the shinobi nations…." He said. "If his Majesty has such a dream, we can fight for it…" he said staring straight at Naruto.
"You can't be serious!" Haku exclaimed.
Yoshino shrugged indifferently. "It would bring order into this world that has no order. There would be no shinobi village that does what they want. We live long lives, once that dominance is executed, we can make sure that generations live in a world that we have created. And also rewrite history in the way we want."
"But eventually, there will be those who will grow strong enough to challenge the rule. There are not many of us to be able to effectively seize control," Naruto said in thought. "Not unless you put Guren in a position hunting down dissent and eliminating it."
"It would just be murder every day and would fill Uzumaki rule with bloodshed," Haku said in a stern tone.
Both Yoshino and Naruto stared at Haku for a moment before the latter spoke. "We should get down to the real business…" he said staring down at the map. "The Fire Nation is surrounded by River, Storm, Mushroom, Canyons, Sound and Land of Hot Steams. For it to enter into any other Great Nation, it needs to go through on of these nations.
"We already have Storm and Sound. But will extend the Sound's borders to the nameless country that borders Canyons. Naori is already at work in forming communications with the Feudal Lords of the remaining nations. We are busy arranging for them to be absorbed into the Uzumaki Empire."
"If the Feudal Lords refuse?" Haku asked.
"There will be no need to even march into their nations. We will just force them into doing it. I doubt they will agree to anything though. But we are prepared to force them into giving the borders of their countries to us," Naruto responded in a hardened tone.
"If we move now, the Fire Nation will take notice and try to act," Yoshino said. "That is why you suggested we do it only after the war," he said, nodding his head in understanding.
"Konoha will not want to be surrounded by us. But if we get both Kumo and Iwa, there won't be much of resistance. If they do try, we will step on their throats," Naruto said casually. "I want you to be ready. Because, we will start talking to them now. You will be the one handling the 'negotiations.' While I focus on both Earth and Lightning."
Yoshino nodded his head. "And the Water Lord?" He asked. "Although we have managed to talk things with Kiri, he remains an issue that tries to block our path."
Naruto glanced at Haku for a moment before responding. "I will leave that decision for Haku. He will decide what is best for the Empire and the Water Nation." The blond said calmly. "Order Guren to move out to the Sound to start familiarizing herself with the environment and her new role. Her unit will be based there."
"Should I also order the agents to move into the Sound be closer to her?"
Naruto nodded. "Naoki will split from Naori in handling Intelligence. Naori will handle it. Naoki can be the intermediary between Guren and us."
"I will have it done, your Majesty," Yoshino said.
"Have Narihiro prepare Kurotsuchi. We will release her once he is done with her," Naruto said. "What is the progress with the bridge?"
"90% complete; the surface itself has been completely built. Installing the rail tracks shouldn't bee an issue," Yoshino said. "Gato's money has already been dried up and the Akatsuki's money is not doing anything. If we don't change things, we will drive the Wave and Uzu into poverty."
Naruto was silent for a couple of moments before finally speaking. "We can't build the rail tracks to the other nations now. They will simply be destroyed and we don't have the resources. Once we have both Earth and Lightning, we will have those resources. For now, we can shelve those plans on focus on the war. But the bridge must be finished. I don't mind borrowing more money to complete it. If we must defend it, we will."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Yoshino said with a nod. "My duties remain many… if you permit it, can Haku be given the authority to dish out your orders. My focus will remain with Uzushio and other nations."
Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment. "What will the others say?"
"They won't complain. Haku is trusted and is a kind hearted person. We agree that he is good for his Majesty," Yoshino said with a small smile.
"Fine," Naruto said with a wave of his right hand. "Will you be able t0 handle it? I considered your character… when asking this…."
"I will…" Haku said firmly.
Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before nodding while he stood up. "Both of you may leave. I want to work alone."
週次パワーステータス
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