Chương 18: 38
Shortly after, Hanzo took out a scroll from a small cabinet behind him and handed it to Kandachi. "Have our fastest messenger Hawk take this to Konoha, it is a letter to Tsunade, telling her that I wish to meet her to discuss a possible alliance between them and us."
"You are going to meet her yourself?!" said Kandachi in shock, since Hanzo hadn't left the Ame in almost twenty years.
"Yes, by going to these talks personally, Tsunade is more likely to accept the meeting."
Nodding his head in understanding, Kandachi quickly left the room to deliver the scroll to the messenger's office.
Shortly after Kandachi left, Hanzo found himself looking forward to the meeting, and seeing the young Senju heir with his own two eyes. Believing it would be an interesting meeting.
-In Konoha-
It was another clear sunny day in Konoha and everyone was taking advantage of the serene atmosphere. Naruto was walking around the village by himself looking around for a certain shop he had heard about.
Walking through the village, several people waved or said hello to him, which Naruto politely returned.
Eventually he found the shop he'd been looking for, it was a small shop filled with various weapons, run by man named Yaiba Kenji, who was consider Konoha's top weapon smith.
When Naruto opened the shop door and entered, he heard the small chime of the shop bell.
Moments after entering the shop, a man, whom Naruto assumed was Yaiba Kenji, appeared from a room behind the shop.
The man was of average height, but was quite muscular in built, with long muscular arms, which Naruto guessed was from working for so long as a smith. He was pale skinned and had short dark brown hair and eyes with a square jaw and face, which was covered by a thick brown beard. He carried a large metal hammer in his right hand and wore simple brown pants and a long black dirty looking apron, which only seemed to highlight his hulking physique.
When Naruto saw the man, the young blonde couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated by the older man's physique, which could easily rival the Yondaime Raikage, or his brother Killer Bee.
"Can I help you?" the man asked in a rather gruff voice.
"Eh yea, are you Yaiba Kenji?"
"I am"
"Great, I was kind of hoping you could help me with something? Naruto asked, where he unwrapped the small bundle he'd been carrying and revealed his broken Katana. "Could you fix this?"
Taking the Katana, Kenji began to examine the pieces carefully, taking in ever inch, while running his fingers across the broken blade. "Hmmm, durable, light weight, well-balanced, average length, I'm assuming this blade is from Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country), or to be more precise Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud)."
"Eh yea...how did you know?" asked Naruto, surprised by how Kenji knew where his Katana came from, after just looking at it for a few moments.
"When you've worked on weapons for as long as I have, you learn a thing or two" the man answered, as he continued to examine the blade. "I recognise the craftsmanship, like Kiri, Kumo Shinobi specialise in swordsmanship, and so their village is renowned for making high quality Katana. Due to their mountainous terrain, Kaminari no Kuni is rich in ore minerals, making their swords very durable and good for channelling Chakra through. But what I find curious is how did you come to have one, did you steal it from a Kumo Shinobi?"
"It was a gift from some friend" Naruto answered, slightly insulted by the accusation.
"I see" replied Kenji, showing no remorse for his accusation.
"So can you fix it?" Naruto asked, hoping to change the topic of the conversation.
Before Kenji could answer, the two suddenly heard a familiar voice call out to the weapons smith.
"Hey tou-san, where exactly do you want me to put this?"
Turning, the bearded man saw his daughter coming out from the back, carrying a large basket of iron sand.
"Put it in the back corner next to the coal" Kenji replied.
Acknowledging her father's orders, the girl was about to return to the back room. But stopped to glance over at the person her father was talking to, and was surprised to see it was Naruto, who seemed just as surprised to see her.
"Naruto?" said the girl
"Tenten-chan?!" said Naruto, recognising the bun-haired girl.
"What are you doing here?" asked both teens at almost the exactly same time.
"I'm here to get my Katana fixed" Naruto replied, "You?"
"This is my family's shop, I work here part-time" Tenten answered.
Curious by what was going on, Kenji decided to speak, "You two know each other?"
"Of course" responded Tenten, putting down the basket she was carrying before walking over to the two. "Dad this is Senju Naruto, you remember, I told you about him."
Upon hearing Naruto's full name, Tenten's father eyes widen slightly in surprise, "So this is the Godaime's son?" But his surprise quickly wore off and was replaced by a stern look, which he aimed at the blonde, while emanating an intimidating aura.
"What exactly are your intentions towards my daughter?"
Stunned by what Kenji had just asked him, and not knowing where this came out of, Naruto's only response was "Huh?"
Before he could even think of an appropriate response, Kenji was suddenly hit hard on the back on his head by his daughter. Said girl was now bright red, from both embarrassment and anger, and holding a large metal rod, which now had a large dent on it, causing Naruto wonder just how hard headed the man was to still be standing after being hit by it.
"BAKA TOU-SAN!" yelled a furious Tenten as she hit her father on the head again with the metal rod, making an even bigger dent. "EVERY TIME I INTRODUCE YOU TO A BOY I KNOW, YOU IMMEDIATELY ASSUME THAT HE'S MY BOYFRIEND…!"
"But Tenny-cha-UFF!" moaned the weapon's smith before he was hit on the head for the third time, by his daughter.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" roared the mortified girl, who seemed to turn an even brighter shade of red when her father called her by her nickname.
At the same time, Naruto slowly moved away from the two, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Tenten fury, which eerily reminded him of his mother's fury, especially with the way she could cow her muscular father.
After a few minutes, Tenten slowly began to calm down a little and allowed her father to get back onto his feet, although continued to give him a threatening glare.
Not wanting to anger his daughter any further, Kenji wisely decided to change to subject and turned to Naruto "So…ahem…eh, what exactly happened to your Katana?"
"It was broken during a mission?" Naruto answered, while keeping a cautious eye on the bun haired girl, who was still glaring at her father.
When the elder Kunoichi finally calmed down she turned her attention to Naruto.
"Oh sorry I forget to mention, congrats on making Chunin, Lee told me when I visited him last."
"Thanks…" said Naruto, still getting use to being a Chunin. "By the way, how is Lee doing?" he hadn't seen the bushy eyed boy since before he left the hospital to go on his mission.
"He's getting there, thanks to the operation that Tsunade-sama preformed, the doctors say that he should be on the mend in a couple of weeks' time, so long as he takes it easy. Although you can probably guess that's easier said than done for Lee" Tenten replied, giggling a little.
Smiling, Naruto nodded, he remembered the times he checked on Lee in the hospital. On more than one occasion he and the other nurses had caught the youth obsessed boy performing push ups and press ups, saying he couldn't afford to rest and needed to train. It got so bad, that they even had to strap him to the bed and knock him out, just to get him to rest.
Turning to Tenten's father, Naruto then spoke, "So do you think you can fix it?"
Looking down at the Katana, Kenji nodded, "I don't see a problem, you have all the pieces and by the look of it, it was a clean cut. But it might take some time, since I'll have to melt down the blade and re-forge it, and make sure that there are no cracks or faults."
"It's fine, take as long as you need."
"If you like, we can lend you one our swords, until Tou-san's finished repairing yours" Tenten offered.
"Thanks but I already have a spare" Naruto said before taking out the Raijin no Ken (Sword of the Thunder God).
Upon seeing the legendary sword of the Nidaime Hokage, both Tenten and her father's eyes grew to the size of saucers.
"The Raijin no Ken" the bun-haired girl muttered in awe.
"Where on earth did you find it?" Kenji asked, staring at the fame sword of the Nidaime Hokage in disbelief. "The sword was stolen two years ago?"
"I retrieved it after I defeated that scum Aoi."
"Impressive" Kenji remarked, now understanding how Naruto's Katana was broken.
"Thanks" replied Naruto, who then noticed Tenten staring longingly at the Raijin no Ken.
"Do you want to have a look?" asked Naruto, offering the sword to Tenten, who seemed surprised by Naruto's gesture.
"Really?" asked Tenten,
"Why not?" said Naruto, where he handed her the sword.
Carefully taking the weapon, the bun haired girl held the sword up in reverence, not believing Naruto was actually letting her hold his ancestor's sword.
Glancing at Naruto again, who simply nodded, Tenten activated the sword, causing the yellow blade to spring to life and hiss loudly.
Staring at the sword for a several minutes, taking in every inch of it, Tenten eventually deactivated the sword and returned it to Naruto.
"A worthy sword, but tell me, if you possess something like that, why do you want me to repair this?" Kenji asked, holding up the broken sword.
"It was a gift from some friends of mine" Naruto answered.
"I see" nodded Kenji, now beginning to understanding where Naruto was coming from. The sword wasn't important to Naruto it was what it represented to him.
After finalising the cost for repairing the sword, Kenji told Naruto that he would send word to him once he had finished. Shortly after, the muscular weapon's smith went back into the smithy behind the store to start work on the sword.
Once her father had left the store, Tenten turned to Naruto, "Sorry about what my dad said earlier, he can be a "tad"protective of me."
"Yea, I kind of got that" Naruto remarked, causing Tenten to blush again and mutter out and apology. "Don't worry about it; believe me I know what it's like to deal with an overprotective parent."
Remembering what happened between Naruto and Mai after their match in the preliminaries, and how Tsunade reacted to it. Tenten knew Naruto did indeed understand what it was like for her.
"I'm also guessing that your an only child, which is another reason why your dad acts the way he does."
"That obvious huh?" Tenten asked, where in response Naruto just smirked.
"Well if you think he was bad now, you should've seen him when I introduced him to Neji and Lee for the first time. It was probably the only time I ever seen Neji look nervous."
Picturing the scene inside his head, Naruto couldn't help but smirk at the image of a nervous looking Neji, while a menacing looking Kenji towered over him.
"So how does your mom feel about all this?" Naruto asked, hoping to learn a little more about the older girl. But no sooner had he asked the question, he instantly regretted it, when he saw the sad look on the bun haired girl's face.
"I wouldn't really know, she dead."
"Sorry" replied Naruto, almost immediately feeling guilty over digging up painful memories of Tenten, who quickly waved him off.
"Its fine, you couldn't have known."
"How did she die, if you don't mind me asking?"
"She was killed on a mission."
"So she was Kunoichi then?"
"Yea, she was one of the main reasons why I wanted to become a Kunoichi, which is probably another reason why my dad is so protective of me. When my mother was killed it almost destroyed him, I suppose the only thing that got him through it was raising me."
When Tenten finished, Naruto nodded his head slowly, now having a better idea of Kenji and why he acted the way he did when it came to his daughter. He wasn't just protective of Tenten simply because she was his "little girl," he acted like this because she was the only thing Kenji had left to live for, something Naruto could understand.
For the next half hour, the two continued to talk with one another, discussing previous missions, fights, and training regimes they had went through.
During the course of the conversation, Tenten even suggested that Naruto could train with her team some time, stating that sensei could give him tips on how to improve his Taijutsu.
Naruto said he would think on it, although Gai was the foremost expert in Taijutsu in Konoha and could indeed help him. He was concern that his appearance could cause friction within the team, although Lee had already forgiven him for what happened in the preliminaries, stating that he knew the risks. The thing that concerned Naruto was Neji, neither of them had seen nor spoken to one another since their match, and he was unsure of Neji's feelings towards him.
Naruto hadn't fully come to a decision in what to think of the elder Hyuga boy; in the beginning he disliked Neji. Not only for action in the preliminaries, but because of his general attitude, treating everyone that he didn't think was worthwhile like they were trash, simply because he had been blessed with natural talent. But now, from what Tenten had told him, Neji had seemly change, he was less arrogant and no longer demeaned others, in fact had often gone to visit Lee in the hospital to see how he was doing and even talked to him.
Furthermore, according to Tenten, Neji had even gone out of his way to protect Hinata when she was attacked by a pair of Kumo Shinobi, who had taken advantage of the chaos caused by the invasion to try and kidnap Hinata.
When Naruto heard this, he decided to given the elder boy the benefit of the doubt.
Shortly afterwards, Kushina entered the store, looking for Naruto and informed him that she had been sent by his mother to find him and tell him that she wanted to speak to him.
Figuring that it was important, given how his mother had sent his sensei to look for him, Naruto quickly bid goodbye to Tenten and took off with red headed Jonin.
-Hokage's Office-
Sitting in her office, the newly appointed Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, was nursing a very painful headache that had been forming ever since she had received the letter that she was holding.
At the same time sitting in front of the blonde Hokage was Tsunade's old team-mate Jiraiya, who had an unusual serious look his face, and her former teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen, who also looked very serious.
"Just when I thought things couldn't get any more complicated" muttered the female Sannin, holding her head in her right hand.
"Well it's not like we didn't see something like this coming" Jiraiya responded.
"Indeed" joined the Sandaime, who was smoking his pipe. "Given recent events, I would've been surprised if something like this didn't happen."
Before Tsunade could reply, there was a sudden knock on the door, when she answered with an "Enter," Naruto, Kushina and Shizune entered the office.
Seeing that both Jiraiya and the Sandaime were also in the office, Naurto greeted them both with his traditional greeting for them, causing the Sandaime to smile and Jiraiya to glare at the blonde. After which he then turned to mother and smile "Heya Kaa-chan, you wanted me?!"
But instead of smiling, like she normally would when she saw him, his mother simply nodded.
Seeing that something was bothering her, Naruto frowned and moved next to Jiraiya and Sarutobi. "What's up Kaa-chan, is there something wrong?"
"That would depend on your perspective" Jiraiya answered with a knowing smirk and wink.
Not understanding what his Godfather was hinting at, the blonde boy gave his the Sage Toad a confused look, which was mimicked by Kushina, who were also in the dark about what was happening.
But before either of them could ask, the Sandaime suddenly spoke. "Not long ago we received a letter from Amegakure (Hidden Rain), stating that they wish to begin talks with us about a possible alliance."
"Seriously…?!" Kushina asked in surprise, which was understandable given Ame's long standing tradition of isolation.
"Yes…" responded the former Hokage, "In fact Hanzo will be attending the negotiations himself and has requested that Tsunade also attend."
"Hanzo is going in person?!" asked Shizune in surprise, speaking for the first time.
"Yes answered the Sandaime, not blaming Shizune for being surprised, since Hanzo hadn't left his village in decades.
"Could it be a trap?" inquired Kushina, knowing that the best way to kill a Kage was when he or she was outside their village, and what better way to lure Tsunade out than the prospect of an alliance. A perfect example of this was how Orochimaru assassinated the Yondaime Kazekage and took his place, without anyone ever knowing about it.
"Possible, but I doubt it" said Jiraiya, joining the conversation. "Hanzo is nobody's fool; he knows full well that if he had Tsunade killed like that, we'd declare all-out war with him, which would draw in Suna, and possibly Kiri on our side. If that happened Iwa might feel threaten by our actions and join in on Ame's side, escalating the war, in which case Ame no Kuni (Rain Country) would become a battlefield and be destroyed, regardless of who won."
"But isn't this alliance a good thing?" interrupted Naruto, who couldn't understand why his mother and the others weren't happy at the possible alliance with Ame. Given the recent invasion, Konoha needed every friend it could get, especially if they wanted to prevent a war from happening.
Turning to his surrogate grandson, the Sandaime spoke. "Normally yes, but what concerns us is that Hanzo has also requested that you accompany your mother to the negotiations as well."
"Me?!" cried Naruto, not understanding why he was asked to join the negotiations.
"Yes…" said Tsunade, who now joined the conversation, "And I will give you three guesses why he asked for you to come."
Naruto of course only needed one, as he quickly realized why Hanzo had asked for him "Mai-chan!"
"And let me guess…" Naruto said flatly, now realizing what was going on. "In the hope of creating a lasting alliance they're proposing a arrange marriage between Mai-chan and me."
"Not exactly…." said Jiraiya, "Although Hanzo is probably going to try and have you hitched with his granddaughter. Unlike Suna he's not being as subtle about as they were, he using that little tradition in his Clan, the one that Mai girl mention in the preliminaries, to try and pressure us to agree to marry you off."
"Why do we even need to ally with Ame, aren't we already allied with Suna and about to ally with Kiri?" Naruto asked.
"One can never have enough allies Naruto, especially at this time" answered the Sandaime. "Unlike Suna, we have to build our alliance with Kiri from scratch, meaning it will take some time to hammer out all the details before a treaty can be signed. When we rebuilt our alliance with Suna, we simply used the same treaty as before, but made few new altercations to it to suit both sides. That's why we were able to renew our alliance so quickly, and prevented the other villages from taking full advantage of our weakened state, which Iwa is already trying to do with their raids on our northern boarders. But if we can form an alliance with Ame we can restrict their attacks."
"How so?" asked Naruto.
"As you know probably know, there are three small nations lying between Hi no Kuni (Fire Country) and Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country). They are Ame no Kuni (Rain Country), Kusa no Kuni (Grass Country) and Taki no Kuni (Waterfall Country)," the Sandaime explained, going into professor mode. "For Iwa to continue their raids on our boarders, they have to cross one of those three nations, but due to their invasion of Kusa no Kuni in the last Great War, Iwa's Shinobi are unable enter the country. If they tried their Shinobi would come under attack from Kusa's Shinobi, who have long held a grudge against them. Also thanks to our renewed alliance with Suna, they cannot go around Kaze no Kuni (Wind Country) to attack us, although even if that were not the case, it would be unlikely for their Shinobi to get through, as Suna relations with Iwa are almost as bad as our owns. But if we get Hanzo to agree to an alliance with us, we can limit Iwa's attacks to only the Taki no Kuni boarders, making it easier for us to defend."
When the Sandaime finish, Jiraiya then decided to add his own input. "There's also the fact that we can't afford to make Ame our enemy right now."
"What do you mean? I know Hanzo is strong and all, but there's no way Ame could beat us in a fight."
"Military strength isn't the only way to cripple a nation Naruto" the Sandaime replied in a sage-like way. "Although Hanzo is a powerful Shinobi and has several skilled Shinobi under his command, you're correct, even in our weaken state Ame could not hope to defeat us battle. But Hanzo can still hurt us in other ways."
"How?"
"Ame no Kuni is a uniquely situated country, bordering three of the Major powers and several smaller nations, making it a hub for trade and travel for these nations and others. It is also very valuable from a military standpoint, where it can be used as both a staging point for an invasion or as a buffer, which is why so many battles have been fought in Ame no Kuni. If we outright refused to meet him or if the talks ended badly, Hanzo could easily seal off the boarders between Ame no Kuni and Hi no Kuni and halt all travel through the boarders. This would have a severe effect on not only our economy, but Hi no Kuni as well, putting us in a very difficult situation, where people would have to circle around Ame no Kuni to enter Hi no Kuni. If worse came to worse, Hanzo could even allow our enemies, like Iwa, to enter Ame no Kuni and use it as a staging point for attacks, and even join in them."
Surprised by the news, Naruto turned to his godfather, who was unusually serious at the moment. "Can he really do all that?"
In response Jiraiya nodded, "Afraid so brat, although not widely known, Hanzo is the real leader of Ame no Kuni, the Rain Daimyo is nothing more than a figure head. He rules Amgakure with an iron fist, limiting all travel in the village, while controlling events in Ame no Kuni from the shadows, where it looks as if the Rain Daimyo is in charge."
"So what do we do?"
"We'll go to the meeting" spoke Tsunade.
"You're going to agree with it?!" cried Naruto, nothing believing what his mother was saying.
"Of course not!" rebuked the female Kage, "If Hanzo wants an alliance then so be it, but if he wants to try the same stunt as Suna, he can stuff it, we'll just use your engagement with that Temari girl to block his attempts. That way he can't be insulted by our refusal when he tries to use the alliance to arrange a marriage between you and her".
"But what about the condition that jiji made in the treaty, allowing me to call; it off, or the Clan Restoration Act?"
"What Hanzo doesn't know, can't hurt us" Tsunade replied, while at the same time thinking. "It will be a cold day in hell before I let that little tramp sink her claws into my innocent baby," the very idea of Mai becoming her daughter in-law infuriated the Slug Princess to no ends.
"But who will run the village when we're at the meeting."
"I will" the Sandaime responded.
Still feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation, and as a former ANBU captain, Kushina felt she needed to voice her concerns further. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, this still could be a trap, we don't know for certain that Hanzo will actually come in person. He could easily send in a double and even if he does come, it doesn't mean he won't make an attempt on your life himself, Orochimaru killed the Yondaime Kazekage when he met him under the guise of an alliance."
"I am well aware of that…" Tsunade replied turning to Kushina, "Which is why I am having Jiraiya accompany me."
"Do you actually think that will work Kaa-chan?" Naruto asked, knowing that the last time his mother and Jiraiya faced off against Hanzo. He had them at his mercy, and that was when Orochimaru was still with them.
"It might, Jiraiya and I may no longer be in our prime, but neither is Hanzo, so seeing the two of us together might make him hesitate in the event that he tries something," answered Tsunade before turning to Kushina. "Hanzo and I are each allowed to bring in two guards, and I want you to be part of my escort."
"I understand Hokage-sama."
"So when do we leave?" asked Naruto.
"We'll leave in three days and be meeting him at Goryōkaku (Five-sided fortification) fort."
"Where's that?"
"It's an old abandoned fort built by a now extinct Shinobi Clan, during the Great Shinobi Clan Wars. It was built on the boarders between Hi no Kuni and Ame no Kun, so it's considered neutral ground."
When Tsunade finished, the group went on to discuss any other details regarding the meeting, such as what to expect from Hanzo and how they, (i.e. Naruto), should behave when around the legendary Shinobi.
After talking for the best part of an hour, Tsunade dismissed the group, with the expectation of Kushina, who was asked to stay by the female Hokage.
"Is there something you wish to speak to me about Hokage-sama?" the red head asked.
"Yes there is" replied Tsunade, whom seemed uncomfortable for some reason. "Given the events that have transpired these past few months, you and I haven't really spoken…"
Curious about what the Hokage was talking about, Kushina raised her right eyebrow, "About…?"
"About Naruto, or to be exact the circumstances that led to his birth."
"I see…" replied Kushina, who had a blank look on her face, now understanding what Tsunade was talking about.
"Yes" answered the blonde Hokage. "I know that you and Minato were together for many years, so when I first heard that you would be acting as both Naruto's guard and sensei. I was worried that you might turn any angry you felt towards Minato and me out on Naruto. But thankfully my concerns were proven wrong when I read Naruto's letters to me, and from what he has told me, I know that you and Yamato have been nothing but good teachers to him. Naruto looks up to you, which is why I was hoping that we could talk, and air our any issues that you may have with me over what happened between his father and me? For Naruto's sake."
For a while Kushina said nothing and simply stared at the elder women, who despite her calm demeanour, was nervous at what Kushina would say. If Kushina held any sort of grudge against her over what happened between her and Minato, it could cause friction between the two of them, with Naruto stuck in the middle of it.
After another tense minute or two Kushina finally spoke, "May I speak frankly Hokage-sama?"
"You may."
"I'll admit when I first heard of what happened between you and Minato, I was angry. But I quickly got over it when I realized that I had not right to be angry, since I was the one who broke it off between Minato and me. So to answer your question, no there are no issues between you or me. But I will admit, I'm bit jealous of you."
"Jealous?" repeated Tsunade, not fully understanding Kushina. Thinking that the red head was jealous that she, (Tsunade), had become the first female Hokage instead of her (Kushina), which was from what Tsunade had heard, was Kushina's dream.
"Yes, whenever I look at Naruto, I can't help but be reminded of his father, and from time to time. I can't help but wonder what it would've been like had I stayed with Minato-kun and he had been my son" explained Kushina, looking more than a tab depressed when she spoke of what might have been.
After several minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tsunade decided to speak. "If you don't mind me asking Kushina, but I've been wondering, why exactly did you and Minato break up?"
Again Kushina did not answer right away and simply stared out at the windows overlooking Konoha. After letting out a long sad sigh, the former ANBU Captain turned to the Senju Matriarch and spoke. "Not long before Minato was made the Yondaime Hokage, he proposed to me, and at first I wanted to say yes. But then I had started thinking on what that meant for my career as a Kunoichi. I had seen a lot of my former classmates, like my friend Uchiha Mikoto, who got married and had kids, abandon their careers. Even if they returned to duty later on, it took most of them years to regain their former positions, and get back into shape. At the time I didn't want that, I had just become an ANBU Captain and I wasn't ready to settle down, or give up my career. I was also afraid that if I did marry Minato and we had children, I would change, and become some housewife, who stayed at home all the time, caring for her children and awaiting on her husband…It was only later that I realized that wouldn't have happened and that Minato would never have forced me to give up my career. But by then it was too late."
After spending many years drowning her sorrow over the mistakes of her past, Tsunade had a fair idea what Kushina was going through and after seeing the pained look across the younger woman's face. She decided to give the former ANBU Captain some advice, so that she wouldn't make the same mistakes she did. "Kushina, the past is the past, and no matter how much we want to, we cannot take back the mistakes we've made. The best we can do is focus on the here and now and learn from them, so that we don't repeat them. Take it from someone who has made a lot of mistakes in their past and spent years trying to run from them, don't let it consume you, your still young and you still have time."
Taking in Tsunade's words, Kushina nodded her head, understanding what the female Hokage was trying to tell her.
Once she had said her piece, Tsunade's face then turned serious, causing the female Jonin to tense up, knowing that what Tsunade was about to say was important. "Kushina, on the chance that the meeting with Hanzo turns out to be a trap, I want you to take Naruto and head straight back to Konoha."
Realizing what Tsunade was asking of her, Kushina was about to object, but before she could say anything, the Godaime Hokage spoke again, in authoritative voice.
"This is not a request Kushina, this is a direct order from your Hokage…should something happen, you're take Naruto and run straight back to Konoha, and you're not to wait for either Jiraiya or me, do you understand?"
Knowing she couldn't refuse a direct order from Kushina reluctantly nodded her head indicating that she understood. She of course realized what Tsunade was doing and knew in her position she would probably do the exact same thing. But even so, it didn't mean she had to like it.
After seeing Kushina nodding her head, Tsunade's features soften and a small grateful smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, I known how much you've grown to care for Naruto and that you would do anything to protect him, your actions with the Akatsuki when they came for him proved that." At this point Tsunade face turned deadly serious, "That's why I'm trusting you with his safety, should something happen, like at the invasion, Naruto will no doubt try to help, and I refuse to put him in that level of danger again."
"I understand" acknowledge Kushina, "If Hanzo does try something; I will take Naruto and run, even if I have to knock him out or drag him away with my chains."
"Knowing my him, you'll probably have to" Tsunade replied with a small snort.
"Yea" said Kushina, before looking over to the Hokage portraits, and staring sadly at her late lover, who almost seemed to smile back at her.
"Naruto, reminds me a lot of his father, and I don't mean the physical resemblance. They have the same reckless attitude, and seem to care more about others than they do themselves Then again, some could say it a family trait, given the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage's history."
"I've noticed that…" the Hokage replied sombrely, she didn't like being reminded the number of risks her son took. "But let's hope Naruto does not share their fate in dying young."
Nodding in agreement, Kushina decided to take her leave and prepare for the coming mission. But just as she opened her mouth to ask to be excused, a large "KA-BOOOM!" was heard coming from not far from the mansion, along with the sound of someone screaming, shortly afterwards the two women heard a familiar voice scream "KUSHINA-SENSEI!"
Turning to the now grinning Kushina, Tsunade let out a tired sigh. "Do I need to be worried?"
"Not really…" replied Kushina. "But I wouldn't go back to your home anytime some. After which the red headed Jonin exited the office and chuckled darkly to herself, "Payback's a Bitch, Naruto"
-Several days later -
In an underground base, located in Oto no Kuni (Sound Country), formerly known as Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields), the cries of a man screaming in pain could be heard echoing throughout the empty hallways.
These cries belonged to none other than Orochimaru, formerly known as the Shirohebi no Konoha (The White Snake of Konoha), now missing-nin, and leader of Otogakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in Sound).
"AAAAHHHHH, My arms, my arms!" the former Sannin screamed, as he lay in his bed, his arms, (which felt like they were on fire from the inside), covered in bandages. "CURSE YOU TSUNADE, CURSE YOU!"
Hearing his master's screams, Orochimaru's attendant raced over to his besides, "Are you okay Orochimaru-sama…? You need to take your medicine quickly."
But no sooner had the attendant reached the man's side, the furious Sennin killed him, spilling the attendants blood all over the bed and floor.
Shortly after the door to the room slide open, revealing Kabuto, who had just returned from an errand.
Seeing the body of the dead attendant, and the blood covering the floor, Kabuto let out a small tired sigh. "Ahhh, I just got back, and now I need to clean the room already? You should really take your medicine, Orochimaru-sama."
"I don't need this useless medicine, what I need is a cure!" hissed Orochimaru angrily. "This burning pain in my hands…I never imagined it would be this painful!"
"You were fighting with Tsunade-sama, the world's foremost medical expert, we should expect nothing less" replied Kabuto, who then received a sharp angry glare from the Snake Sennin.
"I don't want to hear any of your explanations, what I what to here is if you have made any progress in dealing with this poison?!"
"I am afraid not" answered Kabuto, shaking his head with some semblance of shame. "Tsunade-sama truly outdid herself when she created this poison, no matter what I do all my attempts in eradicating the poison from your body have failed. From what I've gathered, the poison was designed to slowly kill all the cells in the victim's body, causing your organs and the rest of your body to slowly lose all function. This is probably why the advancements you've made to your body have been unable to fight off the poison. The pain you're feeling now is a side effect of the poison, whether by design or accidently."
"It was by design, you can be certain of that!" hissed Orochimaru furiously, while silently cursing his former team-mate again. He knew better than anyone, that Tsunade had a vicious streak a mile long, something that he had always admired and respected about her, and would not hesitant to make a person suffer, especially if they crossed her in the wrong way.
Kabuto just nodded, agreeing with Orochimaru's assessment, given how it was well within Tsunade's skill to do such a thing. She would also no doubt want to make his master suffer as much as possible after he attacked her son and marked him with his curse seal.
"I'm afraid for the time being this medicine I created is the best I can offer, it will ease the pain a little and slow the poison down, keeping it from spreading throughout the rest of your body. But it is a temporary solution at best, without knowing how Tsunade-sama created it, or having a pure untainted sample, I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a cure in time.
"Then I suggest you get to back to work!" snarled Orochimaru, who was on the verge of ripping the young man's throat out after feeling another surge of pain coming from his arms.
Nodding, Kabuto was about to turn and leave the room, when he suddenly remembered why he had come here. "Oh, before I forget, I learned some rather interesting information from my informants in Konoha."
"What sort of information?" the Snake Sennin asked irritably, being in no mood for one of Kabuto's games.
"It seems that the Sandaime Hokage has finally stepped down, and that Tsunade-sama has taken his place as the new Godaime Hokage."
Hearing that Tsunade was now the new Hokage, Orochimaru just scoffed, he wasn't surprised that his old teacher had finally stepped down; in fact as far as he was concern, the Sandaime was long overdue to retire. The recent invasion had already proven that Sarutobi was long past his prime and could no longer defend the village successively.
He was also not surprised by Tsunade becoming Hokage, since there were only a small handful of people who could be considered, and out of all people that Orochimaru could think of, Tsunade was the best choice. Not only because of her lineage, but also because of her skills and knowledge on how the village was run, which would be useful in rebuilding the Konoha.
"Is that all?" asked Orochimaru, finding the news not the least bit interesting at all.
No" replied Kabuto with a smile, which seemed to irate Orochimaru even more. "According to my informants, Senju Naruto is alive."
This news of course caught Orochimaru by surprise, where both his eyes widen in surprise. He had been all but certain that Naruto was dead; he had seen the Senju heir die right before his eyes, after he was stabbed through the chest by the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (Grasscutter Sword).
"Alive, How?!"
"I'm afraid the details on how exactly Naruto-kun survived are sketchy at best. But according to rumours, Tsunade-sama used a medical technique she had created to revive him."
When Kabuto finished, Orochimaru, began to chuckle darkly, the news of Naruto's survival did more to ease his pain than Kabuto's medicine ever could.
"EExxaaccttlleenntt!" hissed the Snake Sennin, who was already scheming on how to capture Naruto and take his body, allowing him to escape Tsunade's poison, and at the same time have his revenge on his former team-mate for all the pain and suffering she had caused him.
But before the former Sannin could even begin his plans on how to capture Naruto, Kabuto spoke again. "My informants also told me of another interesting rumour that has been going around Konoha."
"What sort of rumour?" asked Orochiumaru, not appreciating Kabuto interrupted his musing.
"According to the rumour, Tsunade-sama is on her way to meet with Hanzo-sama to discuss a possible alliance between Ame and Konoha."
"What?!" cried Orochimaru, not believing his own ears.
"Furthermore…"continued the silver haired medic, "It seems that the alliance was Hanzo-sama's idea and that he is going to meet Tsunade-sama in person, in an undisclosed location."
"Impossible" said Orochimaru, still not believing what he was hearing, given how none of it made any sense to him. After becoming leader of Amegakure no Sato (The Village Hidden in the Rain), Hanzo became obsessed with his own security, fearing that others would try to remove him as leader of Ame. His paranoia only grew worse after the Second Great Shinobi World War. In fact from what Orochimaru had heard, Hanzo was so paranoid, he would trust no one, and was guarded twenty-four hours a day, and did not allow anyone in his presence, even his own family, without being thoroughly searched.
During the earlier stages of his plan for destroying Konoha, Orochimaru had tried to meet with the Ame leader, in the hope of forming an alliance with him. But the man refused to even meet with him, which forced Orochimaru to seek aid from Suna.
This was of course what puzzled Orochimaru, "Why would Hanzo want to form an alliance Konoha, especially when it is so vulnerable after the recent attack? And why now, of all times, would he leave Ame?"
After pondering the matter for several minutes, Orochimaru's eyes suddenly widened when he realized what Hanzo was planning and began to chuckle. "Kukukuku, very clever Hanzo, very clever indeed."
"Excuse me Orochimaru-sama, but if you don't mind, perhaps you could share what you have just realized?" asked Kabuto, curious as to why Orochimaru was chuckling and what he had just figured out.
"Kukuku, I believe I have just realized Hanzo's true motives behind asking for this alliance with Konoha."
"Which are?"
"When Hanzo, sent his granddaughter into the Chunin exam, he no doubt sent her on orders to kill Naruto-kun, knowing that Konoha could not retaliate. He also no doubt sent her on the chance that Naruto-kun proved stronger than he anticipated."
"You're referring to the Hattori Clan tradition regarding their female members?"
"Yes" replied Snake Sennin, smiling at how quickly Kabuto was catching on. "It makes sense given what happened after Naruto-kun defeated the girl. No doubt Hanzo ordered her to enact that tradition in the event that she lost, allowing him to arrange his granddaughter to marry Naruto-kun."
"If that's true, then why go through the whole façade of an alliance with Konoha?"
"I believe Hanzo might have planned to let a little time pass before pressing the issue between Naruto-kun and his granddaughter. But with Naruto revealing he can use Mokuton and Tsunade now the new Hokage, Hanzo was most likely forced to accelerate his timetable and make some changes. He knows unlike Sarutobi-sensei, Tsunade will not buckle under the threat of hostilities, especially when it concerns her son. I believe Hanzo might try and use the alliance to arrange the marriage between his granddaughter and Naruto-kun, making them a symbol of the new unity between Konoha and Ame."
"But to what end?" inquired Kabuto, "What does Hanzo gain by having his granddaughter marry Naruto? Konoha would never allow him to move to Ame."
"More than likely the marriage is simply a way for Hanzo's granddaughter to get close to Naruto-kun and kill him. In fact given recent developments I wouldn't be surprised if Hanzo has changed his plans into having her first impregnate herself with Naruto-kun's child, before killing him. Thus eliminating a future threat, and at the same time allowing Ame to gain Mokuton for themselves."
"How can be sure that is his plan?" Kabuto asked.
"Hanzo is of the old generation, and such tactics were used before the Shinobi villages were formed. In fact these sorts of tactics are still by smaller and weaker villages, and it is exactly what I would do, if I was Hanzo" Orochimaru explained. "Even that fool Jiraiya for all his skill and strength can be easily brought down by a pretty face, its why attractive Kunoichi are often the most dangerous and deadly of assassins."
Now understanding what Hanzo was up to Kabuto smirked, impressed by how quickly his master had figured out Hanzo's plan. "A bold play by Hanzo-sama, but Tsunade-sama is no fool; undoubtedly she'll be suspicious of Hanzo's motives for the alliance. In fact, I'd be surprised if she agreed to the marriage, regardless of how much pressure Hanzo-sama puts on her, given how protective she is of the boy."
Despite the pain he was under, Orochimaru nodded his head in agreement and smiled. "That is indeed true, which is why when things turn sour, we may find ourselves a useful ally in our future plans against Konoha, my old teacher and team-mates."
Nodding again, Kabuto then pushed up his glasses and started work on cleaning up the "mess" that Orochimaru had made.
When he had finished, Kabuto prepared to leave the room, but just as his hands touched the handle of the door, he heard Orochimaru call out to him. "Kabuto, I want you to contact someone for me."
"Oh and who might that be?" asked the suspicious medic-nin.
"You're a smart boy, I'm sure you can figure out whom I'm speaking of?"
Unsure of whom Orochimaru was referring to, Kabuto closed his eyes for a moment or two, before his eyes opened up again and stared at his master in surprise, realizing just "who" Orochimaru wanted, and frowned.
"Are you sure you want to involve her?"
"Yes, I am, her skills will be useful in capturing Naruto-kun, and perhaps even Sasuke-kun."
Understanding what he needed to do the young medic simply nodded his head again and left the room to begin preparations for what Orochimaru was planning.
- Hi no Kuni and Ame no Kuni boarders-
After travelling for about a day and a half, the representatives of Konoha neared their destination.
"How much further until we arrive?" asked Naruto, after he and the rest of the party jumped down from the trees.
"We're nearly there…" answered Jiraiya, while pointing at a large hill directly ahead of them. "Just over the over that hill and we'll be able to see it."
"What's wrong, nervous about meeting your future in-laws?" teased Kushina, causing a large tick mark to appear on her student's head. "I hope you showered, we wouldn't want to "smell," now would we?"
No sooner had the former ANBU captain said the word "smell", she received a sharp angry glare from her student. Thanks to the little surprise she left in his room, the young Senju and his room had been left smelling rather pungent for several days.
Before Naruto could make any kind of retort, Tsunade, (who was already ahead of them), called out to them, and told them to hurry up.
Knowing now was not the time, Naruto settled with giving the red haired woman another angry glare, causing Kushina smirk, where she then preceded to stick out her tongue in a teasing manner.
Not long after making their way up the hill, the group saw their destination, Goryōkaku fort.
Goryōkaku was a large fort built on a large man-made island, (according to what Jiraiya had told him), in the centre of an even larger lake.
The fort covered almost the entire island, taking the shape of a five pointed star, (hence its name). Looking at the fort, Naruto could easily see why Hanzo and his mother had agreed to meet here. Despite how much it had fallen into disrepair, the fort was still defendable. It had thick high inner and outer walls, surrounded on all sides by Water, with only three narrow bridges that would allow access to the island. With enough food and supplies, Naruto could easily see a small group of Shinobi holding off an entire army here.
Making their way to the fort, Tsunade told Naruto the history of the fort. According her, the fort was built by a now extinct Clan, who existed during the Great Clan Wars and withstood multiple attacks from larger and more powerful Clans, by taking safety in the fort. But eventually the Clan fell, after one of their enemies lured them out of their fort, and tricked them into fighting them in the open, where they were defeated and destroyed.
Over time the fort was occupied by several different Shinobi Clans, but was abandoned soon after the Shinobi villages were formed.
When the Great Shinobi Wars erupted, the fort came into use again by both Ame and Konoha, due to its key position on the Hi no Kuni and Ame no Kuni boarder. The fort was an ideal base for defending against attack or as a staging point for invasion by either nation. But after the Third Great War ended it was agreed by both sides that it would be left unoccupied and used as a neutral meeting ground for both villages.
Making their way across one of the bridges, Naruto glanced into the Water to see if he could find out how deep the lake was. But no sooner had he peered over, he was roughly pulled back by his mother.
"Naruto don't go near the Water!"
"She's right kid, if you value your life you'll stay away from the Water" warned Jiraiya.
"But why?"
"There are some old booby traps down there left from creators of the fort, if you get too close to the Water you could activate the trap" the Toad Sage warned.
Not wanting to tempt fate, Naruto wisely heeded his godfather's warning and kept away from the bridge's edge.
Once they had crossed the bridge, the group entered the fort and headed straight to a large single-story building in the centre of the fortress, which use to be the residence of the leader of the Clan, and where they would meet Hanzo and his party.
"Geeze this place is sure a lot creepier up close, than it is from a distance" Naruto thought as he looked around the fort and at the old ruined buildings in the fort, secretly hoping that they wouldn't be spending the night here.
Before long, the group finally reached their destination, but saw no sign on the Ame party.
"So how long do we have to wait before they show up?" Naruto asked, looking around them.
"Not long…" replied Tsunade, before looking up at the slanted tile rooftop of the main building. "In fact they're already here."
Turning to where his mother was looking at, Naruto saw several cloaked figures jump out from behind the slanted rooftop and land directly in front of them.
"It seems you've improved since we last meet brat" commeted the lead figure in a deep but strange voice, as if something was covering his mouth. Silently scoffing at the man's remark, the Slug Princess chose to ignore the man's remark and get to the matter at hand. "I thought we agreed that you would only bring two guards, Hanzo? I count three."
Seeing that Tsunade was ignoring his belittling remarks, the famed Shinobi lowered his hood and opened up his cloak to reveal himself.
Hanzo was of average height, with a surprising muscular build for a man his age; he had long blond hair reaching down to his back and a prominent scar on his right cheek. But the most distinctive thing about him was his eyes, where his sclera was black and his irises were white. He had a dark hat on his head and his lower face was mostly obscured by a helmet-like respirator. The upper portion of this mask bore the symbol of his village and was mirrored by four indentations on the part covering his mouth. His attire was of typical Shinobi style, black pants accented by bandages wrapped around his wrists and lower legs, a flak jacket with swirls on the chest-plate, standard shinobi sandals along with a dark cloak that reached down below his waist.
When Naruto first saw the man, he was a little disappointed, given his infamous reputation; he had expected Hanzo to be taller and more intimidating looking. But despite this, Naruto knew the man was still very dangerous, not only for what he did in the past, but the fact he lived to be as old as he was now.
"Unfortunately plans change, and she was very insistent on coming" replied the famed Ame leader.
"She?" repeated Tsunade, having a bad feeling as to who "she" was.
"Nice to see you again old hag" spoke the shortest member of the Ame group, pulling her hood down, revealing herself to be Mai.
At the same time another member of the Ame party lowered their hood and revealed himself to be Kandachi, whom Naruto recognised as Mai's team sensei from the Chunin exam.
Growling at the insult, Tsunade was about to rebuke the young Kunoichi, but before she could utter a word, Mai turned to Naruto. "But still it worth seeing you again Naruto-kun," where she then gave Naruto the same predatory smile she gave him gave before, causing the blonde boy to go red for a moment, remembering what happened the last time he saw Mai.
Looking Naruto over, Mai was pleased to see Naruto wearing a Konoha flak jacket, "I see that congratulation are in order, you made Chunin, but I would expect nothing less from you."
"Eh yea…thanks" replied Naruto, becoming even more nervous with the dark aura that was now surrounding his mother when she saw the granddaughter of Hanzo.
Fortunately though before anything could happen, everyone's attention turned to Hanzo again, when he moved over to Naruto, wanting to have a better look at the blonde boy for himself. "So this is your son?"
"Yes" replied Tsunade, while placing a hand on Naruto's right shoulder in a protective manner. "Your letter stated that for the meeting to happen, you wanted Naruto to accompany me, so that you could meet him."
"Hard to imagine that one so young could do what my granddaughter has told me?" Hanzo remarked while he continued to stare at Naruto, as if trying to figure him out.
"Naruto is a capable Shinobi, and has been trained well" Tsunade answered, while tightening her grip on Naruto's shoulder.
"So I have heard" Hanzo said, before lifting his gaze from Naruto and glancing at Jiraiya. "I see that you've brought your former team-mate Jiraiya as well."
"Yes...I'm sure that you of all people can understand the need to cautious."
"Indeed" replied the fame Shinobi leader in a neutral tone, betraying no emotion whatsoever.
After a few more minutes, of what "could"be considered a pleasant, but tense conversation. Both Tsunade and Hanzo agreed to go inside the building to begin the talks, leaving their escorts to guard the outside.
Shortly after Tsunade and Hanzo entered the building, Mai and the other remaining member of her party, (who still kept their cloaked on and carried a large sword on their back), slowly walked over to Naruto and his group. But before Mai could say anything to the blonde boy, her companion suddenly spoke in a taunting-like voice. "Well, Well, Well, isn't this a surprise…it's been a long time hasn't it…Tomato-chan?"
At the mention of her old Kushina's old nickname, both Jiraiya and Naruto wisely moved back, knowing exactly what was to come next. For as soon as the hooded figure said the word "Tomato", a dark threatening aura surrounded the female Jonin, and her hair began rise and move around like roaring flames.
But what Jiraiya and Naruto didn't know was that the mentioning of her old nickname wasn't the only reason for Kushina growing anger. The other reason was due to the fact that she recognised the person's voice, and also because she knew of only one person who would have the audacity, not to mention the "nerve" to call her by that name to her face, and not fear the consequence.
"YOU!" spat Kushina angrily, while slowly readying her Katana.
Seeing Kushina's reaction, the hooded figured smirked underneath their hood. "So you do remember me after all…guess you haven't gone senile yet, although that probably not far off, time sure hasn't been kind to you."
This of course added even more fuel to the fire, as Kushina began to growl and griped her Katana tightly, wanting nothing more than to cut the hooded person in two.
Worried by what his sensei was going to do, while at the same time curious by how Kushina knew the mysterious person, Naruto walked over to his teacher. "Do you know this guy Kushina-sensei?"
But before his sensei could answer, the hooded person spoke. "Oh yea, we go way back, don't we Tomato-chan?" causing the female Uzumaki to growl again.
Becoming even more curious by the relationship between his sensei and the hooded person, Naruto turned to look at re headed Jonin again. "Sensei, who exactly is this guy?"
At first Kushina did not respond and continued to glare at the still smirking Ame-nin. But before long she finally spoke. "For the record, he is in fact she…and her name is Hattori Amaya, or as she likes to call herself Ame no Kuro Sanshōuo (Ame's Black Salamander)." (1)
At the mentioning of her name, Amaya lowered her hood and revealed herself to the Konoha party.
Amaya was average height, (five foot five), although look taller, thanks to the wooden sandals she wore, which reminded Naruto of the ones his godfather wore. She had long black hair, jaw-length bangs framing both side of her face and was tied up in a high ponytail by a large hair ornamental. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless tunic and loincloth, similar to Mai's, although instead of being red with white lines, hers was mostly black with red lines with a red sash around her waist. Amaya also wore long white gloves and white stockings with metal elbow pads and demon shape kneepads. She wore a purple rope belt around her shoulders, tied in a bow, which she used to carry her massive sword on her back. (2)
After seeing the young woman in her attire, both Jiraiya and Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this was the standard attire for all female Kunoichi in Ame, or at least the Hattori Clan.
"Still dressing like a slut I see?" Kushina remarked.
"Heh, well if you've got it, flaunt it!" replied Amaya, which she then emphasised by raising her arms over her head and performed a provocative pose, causing a embarrassed Naruto to look away, while Jiraiya ogled.
Like Mai's, Amaya's attire left little to the imagination, showing off Amaya's curvy figure and ample bosom, which was easily DD in size. "But you probably wouldn't know anything about that, now would you?" where she indicated Kushina's chest, causing the female Jonin to go red, both from embarrassment and anger. But upon realizing what game Amaya was playing at, Kushina took a few deep calming breaths.
Once she had successively calm herself down, Kushina sneered right back at the woman, "Well unlike "some" people, I don't have to dress some harlot to win my fights, I actually use skill."
This of course had the desired effect that Kushina was hoping for, where Amaya's smirked died almost instantly and began to glare at her old nemesis.
"Tough talk coming from you Tomato-chan" Amaya snarled as she leaned in closer on Kushina, who did not back down and moved closer to the woman, where their faces were almost touching one another.
"Anytime, Bitch!" snarled Kushina, where she and Amaya began throwing insults at one another.
While this was going on, the remaining other members of the Konoha and Ame parties were starting to get concern by the amount of hostility the two women had for one another. This became more evident as lightning seemed to spring out of their eyes and clash with one another.
Fearing that he might get caught in the coming disaster, Naruto took several steps back next to his godfather. "Hey Ero-sennin, do you know what the deal between Kushina-sensei and her is?"
Ignoring the nickname, Jiraiya shook his head, "Sorry brat, I've no clue as to what sort of issue those two have. But I do know that Amaya girl is pretty dangerous."
"Is she strong?" asked Naruto.
"Yea, she's one of Ame's best, if what I've heard is true" the old Sage replied.
"Don't you think we should stop them?"
"By all means brat, lead the way" Jiraya said, while gesturing to the two Kunoichi, who were now emanating flames all around them, "I'll be right behind you."
"Jeeze, Thanks" Naruto said sarcastically, while quietly grumbling about cowardly perverts. Then again he wasn't one to judge, given how he too was fearful of getting in between the two Kunoichi.
Fortunately, before things could get further out of hand, Kandachi decided to intervene. "That's enough Amaya! We did not come here so that you that you could settle your old grudges. There is to be no fighting here…Do you wish to anger Hanzo-sama?!"
"He's right Kushina-sensei…" Naruto added, knowing that now was not the time or place for his teacher's personal issues. "You can sort out this stuff later."
For a moment neither woman moved or said anything, and continued to glare at one another. But before long, the two Kunoichi relented and said "Fine!" at the exact same time before moving back from one another."
"We'll settle this later another time Tomato-chan."
"Fine!" growled Kushina, finally letting go of her Katana, and taking a step back.
Once the tension had finally died down, Amaya walked pasted Kushina and moved over to Naruto, finally taking notice of him.
"Hmmm, so you're the one who defeated my Mai-chan" Amaya remarked leaning down to study Naruto's face. "Hard to believe that someone like you could do all the things I heard about."
"Her Mai-chan?" thought Naruto and the other Konoha members together, unsure in what way they should take Amaya's comment.
"Naruto-kun is strong, you can be certain of that!" voiced Mai.
"I suppose" Amaya replied, although did not look convinced and began to pinch Naruto's cheeks, "Still, you not bad looking at least."
"Eh thanks" Naruto replied, after Amaya stop pinching his cheeks.
"In fact" continued Amaya, stopping Naruto from saying anything more. "You reminded me of someone I once knew, especially with that coat of yours."
"Really?" asked Naruto, trying not to sound nervous as Amaya stared even hard at him.
Naruto was of course not the only one, Jiraiya was also starting to get nervous, fearing that Amaya might realize that Minato was Naruto's father.
Luckily though, before Amaya could comment any further, Kushina intervened by pushing Naruto back and moving herself between him and the elder Ame Kunoichi.
"I think that's quite enough!" said Kushina in an authoritative voice.
Surprised slightly by Kushina's actions, Amaya took a small step back before. "Well now, aren't we protective, what brought this on?"
"I'm his sensei."
"Perhaps, but I think it's more than just that" Amaya commented coyly, which made the Konoha party even more nervous.
"I don't know what you're talking about?" huffed Kushina, while maintaining a calm exterior.
"I think you do" Amaya replied, as a knowing smile appeared on her face, confirming the Konoha member's worst fear. "You want to make that boy your new lover, don't you?!"
In that moment, everyone looked at the Ame Kunoichi with the exact same dumbfounded expression on their faces. The jaws of Kushina and the other Konoha members all hit the ground, out of all the things they had expected Amaya to say, this was the last thing.
The Konoha party were so stunned by Amaya's comment, that the only thing they could say was "Huh?"
Confused by everyone's reaction, Amaya simply shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see what's the big deal is; it's pretty obvious if you ask me?" causing everyone to collapse onto the ground in utter disbelief.
Kushina was the first to recover out of her group and quickly jumped back onto her feet and yelled "THE HELL IT IS!"
Mai was the next to recover, where she quickly got back onto her feet and shouted, "THERE'S NO WAY I'M GOING TO LET SOME OLD HAG TAKE MY NARUTO-KUN AWAY!"
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING AN OLD HAG!" roared Kushina, turning her anger on Mai.
While the three women continued to yell at one another, both Naruto and Kandachi simply stood with the same dumbstruck expressions and watched the three woman argue, not sure how to make of all this.
Jiraiya on the other hand, was busy writing in his small notepad, giggle perversely every so often as he took notes on a new side story he had just come up with to go with his new book Icha Icha Togi (Make-Out Nurse).
The story would be about the forbidden affair between student and teacher, where a young female teacher slowly seduces her younger male apprentice, where they travel together having wild exotic adventures together. It would be a huge seller, he was certain of it.
Eventually though Jiraiya musing was halted by Amaya when she shouted, "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING A DUMB BROAD!"
"YOU, YOU BUMB BROAD!" yelled Kushina. "Only an idiot would come up with a conclusion like that. All those nutrients you eat must go to your breasts, since they obviously don't go to your head!"
"Do you want to die you flat chest Hag?!" snarled Amaya, moving closer to Kushina.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A FLAT CHESTED HAG?! YOU OVERGROWN BIMBO!" roared Kushina, whose hair had once again started to wave around like wildfire.
Seeing that this fight no longer involved her, Mai decided to move away from the two women and let them go at it. So long as Kushina had no intentions towards "her" Naruto-kun, she had no issue with the red headed woman.
"You must be really desperate to find yourself a man, if you need to go after a kid like him?" taunted Amaya. "Then again you're probably after him since he looks just like your old boyfriend."
"Boyfriend?" repeated a surprised Naruto, causing Kushina and Jiraiya cursed silently, knowing where this would lead.
Hearing the surprise in Naruto's voice at the mention of Kushina having a boyfriend, Amaya quickly pulled herself back and sneered. "Oh didn't you know, your sensei here used to have a lover, some time back. Smart, good looking, not to mention strong, he did after all become your Yondaime Hokage."
When Amaya was finished, Naruto was left stunned. But before he could even ask his sensei if what Amaya said was true, the Ame Kunochi continued. "In fact, I suppose you could even say he was the whole reason for our feud."
"How's that?" asked Mai, who was now curious by the history of the two.
"Back when Tomato-chan and I were still Genin, the two of us entered the Chunin exam together. Also in the finals was Namikaze Minatio, your future Yondaime Hokage, and after seeing him fight, I was impressed with him and got to talking to him. At least until we were "rudely" interrupted by some loud mouth, flat-chested, "little" midget of a girl, who didn't like the fact that her "boyfriend" was flirting with me."
"He wasn't flirting with you, you were trying to flirt with him, Minato was simply too polite and simpleminded to know what you were doing!" retorted a furious Kushina, who was on the verge of losing all control of herself after hearing Amaya's insults.
"If that's true then how do you explain him kissing me?" Amaya asked slyly.
This comment of course got everyone's attention, where all eyes were focused on Amaya.
Jiraiya although couldn't help but smirk and think, "Minato, you sly old dog, now I know where Naruto gets it from."
"HE DIDN'T KISS YOU! YOU FORCED YOURSELF ON HIM!" yelled a now red face Kushina, remembering how Amaya stole Minato's first kiss from her.
"Heh, that's not how I remember it" Amaya replied, still smiling slyly. "I'll admit I "may" have begun it. But I don't remember him resisting much. In fact, I seem to remember him enjoying it, he was actually pretty good at it for a first-timer, tasted like...vanilla."
No sooner had Amaya said the word "vanilla", something inside Kushina snapped, where red headed Uzumaki pounced on her nemesis like a wild Tiger, screaming "BITCH!"
By the time everyone had realized what had happened, the two Kunoichi were rolling around on the dirt, biting, screaming, scratching, cursing, pulling hair and pieces of cloths off one another, all fighting sense and style lost. The only thing the two women seemed to care about was trying to hurt each other as much as possible, while hurling out insults at one another.
"Hag!"
"Whore!"
"Crone!"
"Slut!"
"Bitch!"
"Cow!"
"Shrew!"
"Slut!"
"Harpy!"
"Home wrecker!"
The fighting got so bad that even Hanzo and Tsunade were force to leave the main building to see what was going on. When the two Shinobi leaders exited the building, they were surprised to find Kushina and Amaya fighting and rolling in the dirt.
Shortly after the two of them were pulled off one another by their respected comrades, who then struggled to hold onto them and keep them killing each other.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!" roared Tsunade, not believing that two veteran Kunoichi were rolling around in the dirt, fighting like a pair of children.
No sooner had they heard Tsunade, and saw her and Hanzo standing together, the assembled Shinobi almost immediately broke apart from one another and stood to attention.
"Well?!" asked the irritable Tsunade as she walked towards them. "Will someone care to tell me what is going on, and why you two are fighting like pair of schoolyard children?"
When Tsunade receive only silence from the two groups, Hanzo walked forward "I believe the Hokage-dono asked you all a question," giving each Shinobi a dangerous looking glare, which Naruto found rather intimidating.
Eventually Kushina and Amaya confessed that the two of them got into a heated argument, although did not go into detail on what the argument was about. They explained that due to their long term rivalry with one another, the argument spun out of control, causing the scene that Tsunade and Hanzo saw.
When the two Kunoichi finished, Tsunade could only sigh, "The things I have to put up with." Shortly though she looked Kushina directly into the eye and gave her a stern, disappointed look. "Uzumaki Kushina, I'm deeply disappointed with you…I expected better from you!"
Unable to stand Tsunade's disappointed look, Kushina lowered her head in shame. "I apologise Hokage-sama, it will not happen again, I promise."
"I should hope not!" said Tsunade. "We'll discuss you behaviour when we return to Konoha, and how you will be punished."
"Hai Hokage-sama."
After finishing reprimanding Kushina, Tsunade turned to Hanzo, who had just finished berating Amaya, who like Kushina, lowered her head in shame.
"I apologise for my subordinates actions Hanzo-sama, please be assured that it will not happen again."
"There is no need for apologies Hokage-san, my daughter's actions here were inexcusable and you can be certain that she will be properly punished when we return home," said the Ame leader, before giving Amaya one last glare, who kept her eyes to the ground.
"Thank you Han-wait...your daughter!" said Tsunade before realizing what Hanzo had said, where she glanced back and forth between Amaya and Hanzo.
"Yes" Hanzo replied.
"Then does that mean she's…" said Tsunade, but before she could finish Hanzo interrupt him.
"Yes, she is also my granddaughter Mai's mother."
Upon hearing this, the eyes of everyone in the Konoha group widened.
"Amaya-san is Mai-chan's mother?!" exclaimed Naruto silently, before glancing at both Mai and her newly revealed mother in surprise.
Kushina of course was more shocked than anyone else; she had known Amaya since they first competed in the Chunin exam together, and yet she had no idea that she was Hanzo's daughter.
"You had a kid!" the now stunned red head asked, turning to her rival.
"Huh? Of course, unlike you I have no intention of becoming an old maid" the Ame Kunoichi replied with another sneer, causing Kushina to glare at her, wanting nothing more than punch the woman in the face. But reigned her temper in, knowing she couldn't afford to embarrass both herself and her village any more than she already had.
"I can't believe it, Amaya is Hanzo's daughter "and" she Mai's mother!" said Kushina to herself, trying to make sense of it all, since the idea of Amaya being a mother was unbelievable.
Despite Amaya being Mai's mother, there wasn't much physical resemblance between the two, unlike her mother, who had black hair, Mai had brown hair and her face was rounder than Amaya's.
When Kushina first saw Mai, she had notice a slight resemblance between two, which was highlighted by the fact that they wore similar clothing. But she had quickly dismissed the small resemblance for the fact that they were from the same Clan, and that Mai wore the same outfit as Amaya because she was an admirer of Amaya, much like Lee in regards to Gai.
"Bah! I really am a Baka, I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner, the girl may not resemble her much, but personality wise, she is exactly like what Amaya was, or should I say, still is."
After getting over his surprise by the news, Jiraiya couldn't help but smirked as he glanced over at the now revealed daughter of Hanzo. "Damn, she obviously gets her looks from her mother," after which he then glanced over at Mai. "Guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree after all," thinking how not only had Mai turned out to be just as attractive as her mother, but also had the same fashion sense, not to mention inherited the same taste in men.
Glancing at the mother and daughter, Jiraiya couldn't help by silently envy his godson fortune, since if his luck held, which it usually did for Naruto. Then Mai could still inherit a few "others" things from her mother, where he glanced at Amaya's chest.
"First Minato and now the brat" Jiraiya thought as he glanced at his godson. "You're definitely your father's son brat," the Toad Sage told himself, chuckling silently at how funny life was. It was almost as if history was repeating itself where like his father, Naruto had attracted the attraction of a Hattori Kunoichi, (the daughter of the one that went after Minato), and had his first kiss "stolen" by her during the Chunin exam.
"Now that I think on it, this too might make a good short story for later on. A story about two star cross lovers unknowingly drawn together by the history of their parents. The story practically writes itself!" the Sennin thought, while making mental notes on yet another possible short story, storing it for later. At the same time Jiraiya was silently applauding himself for agreeing to come with Tsunade to this meeting, he was getting tons of new ideas.
Once the shock of Amaya being Hanzo's daughter died down, Tsunade and Hanzo decided to separate the two Kunoichi. Hanzo would have Amaya accompany him back into the main building as his guard, while Tsunade would bring Jiraiya, leaving Kushina outside with Naruto and Kandachi with Mai.
After Tsunade and Hanzo had returned to the main building to resume their talks, Naruto asked Kushina if could talk to her in private.
Already knowing what Naruto wanted to talk to her about, the red headed Uzumaki reluctantly nodded her head.
When Mai saw Kushina and Naruto walking away, the young Ame Kunoichi wanted to go over and listen to what they were going to talk about. But before she could get close, she was stopped by Kandachi, who grabbed her by her should and shook his head.
Once they were far enough for Mai and Kandachi not to hear them, Naruto look up at his sensei. "So is it true? Were you and my dad lovers once?"
At first Kushina did not answer, and silently cursed Amaya for millionth time for opening her big mouth, this wasn't the way she had wanted to reveal her relationship with Minato to Naruto.
But after a minute of awkward silence, Kushina finally spoke, knowing she could no longer avoid the question, "Yes it's true."
"Why didn't you tell?" asked Naruto, "Why didn't Kaa-chan or Ero-Sennin or anyone else tell me?" knowing full well they would have known about his father's relationship with his sensei.
Sighing again, Kushina looked down at Naruto, who was angry that she and the others had kept this from him. "I was afraid that that my past relationship with your father would have cause complications, where you might resent me for it. I asked Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama and the other to not tell you since I wanted to be the one to tell you, when the time was right."
"That it?" asked Naruto in surprise, not believing his sensei's reasons. "You hid this from me simply because you were afraid that I would resent the fact that you and my dad use to be lovers?!"
After receiving only a nod from Kushina, Naruto cried out in frustration and stamped feet into the ground, causing several spider cracks to appear. He hated how people would hide things like this from him, under the guise of protecting him or waiting for the right time, especially when they knew how much he desired to know about his father.
"And when exactly was the right time going to be?" Naruto asked calmly. But when he received no response from his teacher, it answered what he already knew.
Gripping his hands into the fist, Naruto glared at his teacher, he understood why his mother and the other didn't tell him about Kushina and his father, it wasn't their story to tell. But still what irked him the most was that his sensei never had the decency to tell him herself, in the first few months when they meet, he could understand. They had only met and it would naturally cause some awkwardness for a while, but after eight months of training under her, he thought she would know him well enough by now. "Sensei, you're one of the few people who actually know who my father is and that I was born out of wedlock. If I can handle the fact that the only reason I came to exist was because both my parents got drunk one night and slept together. Don't you think I could handle the news that you and my dad were together before my mom, I thought you knew me better than that?!"
Again Kushina did not answer right away and simply stared at the ground in shame, but after a minute or so she lifted her head up. "Your right Naruto, I should've told you sooner, and I should've known better, and for that I am sorry. But you have to understand, whenever I look at you, I can't help but be reminded of your father, not just because of your physical resemblance, but in other aspects as well. It is not easy for me, whenever I look at you, I can't help but be reminded of what might have been had I not broken things off with your father and me."
"I guess I never really thought of it that way" Naruto said, where his anger began to fade and was replaced by shame. He had been so angry over Kushina hiding her relationship with his father from him, that he never considered how his teacher might be feeling. If things had turned out differently between them, it was likely that Kushina would have been his mother instead.
"Do you resent Kaa-chan for what happen between her and Tou-san, or me for existing?" asked Naruto.
"No" Kushina replied, as she smiled down at her student. "I'll admit in the beginning I was angry at Tsunade-sama, but not anymore, because I realized that I had no right to be angry, since I was the one who broke it off with your father. Nor do I hate you Naruto, in fact I have grown to care for you, not in the way that Amaya suggest, but as my precious student."
When Kushina finished, Naruto couldn't help but smile back at his teacher, like her, he had grown to care for his teacher and regarded her as an older sister figure, much in the way he regarded Shizune.
"If you don't mind me asking sensei, but why exactly did you break up with Tou-san, didn't you love him anymore?" asked Naruto. But no sooner had he asked it, he quickly regretted it, when he saw the sad look appear on Kushina's face.
"Love wasn't the problem; in fact I did love your father...very much."
"Then why did you break up with him?"
Looking up at the clear sky above them, Kushina let out a small sigh, before looking back at her student where she explained how his father had proposed to her shortly before he became the Yondaime Hokage. But had turned him down when she thought that she would have to give up her career as a Kunoichi and lose everything she had gained. It was only after he died sealing the Kyubi away that she realized that did not need to happen, and that she could have still went on to being a Kunoichi after marrying Minato.
When Naruto heard the story, the young blonde couldn't help but feel sorry for his sensei, and could only imagine how hard it must have been for her, living with so many regrets when his father died.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Naruto spoke again "Eh sensei, do you think I could ask you something?"
"You can."
"Do you think you can tell me some things about Tou-san? You know things that Kakashi-sensei and Ero-sennin might not know about…But if it's too painful to you to talk about Tou-san, it's alright then."
"No it's fine…in fact I think it would help, if I share some of my memories about your father with you" the smiling red head replied, where she began to tell Naruto some stories about his father during their academy and Genin years.
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