Naruto appeared in a hotel room to find most of the recently freed Bijuu lounging about. He smiled politely at them before he was crushed to Rangiku's chest as she said, "Naruto, it's been ages. How about we find a nice quite place where you can…"
"Easy there," Yoruichi said pulling Naruto free of her sister's cleavage, "It's only been a few days; try to act your age."
Rangiku pouted as she said, "That's easy for you to say. I felt you, Seven, and Kiyomi through the mark. Before you came here the three of you had another romp with him while you left me here to play babysitter."
"Um well…that's…" Yoruichi sputtered.
She was saved by Kiyomi, who asked, "Speaking of which where are Kukaku and Nel?"
"Kukaku said she was going out for some air, and Nel is taking a nap," Rangiku answered while pointing towards a sheet with a lump under it.
"You might want to reevaluate the situation," Seven smirked as she pulled the sheet away to reveal a pillow.
"That little brat," Rangiku said angrily as she rounded on Tier and the women that she helped give lift to by sacrificing two of her tails to add, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Watch how you speak to Lady Tier cow," the woman calling herself Emilou Appaci said coming to her Lady's defense.
"Cow," Rangiku said angrily before smirking as she countered, "Oh you must be referring to the fact that unlike someone I actually have breasts."
Appaci looked like she was about to attack, but Tier held up her hand as she said, "Please calm down. To answer your question Rangiku I didn't inform you because it was your task to watch Nel. Perhaps in the future it would benefit you to actually show some interest in the errands you are given. You didn't try to stop Kukaku from leaving something you were supposed to do as well."
"Kukaku is a big girl she can take care of herself," Rangiku said defensively. "Nel is…"
"Also a Bijuu," Tier said cutting off her sister.
"That may be true," Kiyomi said preparing to search for the Bijuu in question, "But as diminished as she is, it wouldn't hurt to make sure she doesn't find herself in a bad situation due to her naïve nature."
"Which is why before she left I took the liberty of placing a locator seal on her," Tier answered. "But we are not your underlings Kiyomi. I remained in this room because you asked me too. Nel and Kukaku were under no such compulsion to comply."
"I know, I know," Kiyomi said defensively, "I just don't want you all attracting the wrong kind of attention before I've had a chance to explain how I want you to help."
"So let's get to it," the white haired young woman calling herself Mirajane said. The Six-tails stepped into the room from the bedroom that she had claimed in the expensive suite Kiyomi had booked. Tier noticed that Mirajane appeared to be slightly younger than the young man she assumed to be Naruto. Guessing her sister had chosen such a young form so as to not be locked into a certain body type, Tier hoped her sister's attitude would change since an arrogance seemed to have grown from the confidence she had gained with her looks.
Mirajane studied Naruto for a moment before giving him a dismissive snort as she said, "Hmph this is the guy Rangiku was crowing about. He doesn't look to be all that. I could probably take him with one arm tied behind my back."
"Perhaps," Naruto said with a smile, "But then again in such a situation, I'd probably just be glad to see you'd limit yourself so." Naruto noticed a woman hanging back from the others so asked, "Who might you be?"
"Urd," the dark-skinned woman answered. She was a little uncomfortable considering her origins so was pleased the young man didn't pry.
But it didn't last as Kiyomi explained, "She was born from the piece of Gyuki that was sealed into the statue."
Yet to Urd's surprise Naruto's demeanor never changed as he said, "It's nice to meet you Urd. I hope you're finding your new existence quite enjoyable."
Urd's focus shifted from the blond man to the white-haired Mirajane, who had been quite insistent that she not refer to herself as a Bijuu. Although Rangiku had told the Six-tails to back off, the dark-skinned woman could see that the Blond wasn't quite sure she disagreed. It had made Urd feel as if she was little more than a doll given a semblance of life so as to keep the power that had been growing from the tentacle the original Eight-tails had sacrificed from falling into someone else's hands.
Yet outside of the diminutive Nel, the man currently meeting her eyes also didn't seem to share such an opinion. His warm eyes continued to shine as he said, "I hope you agree to help with Kiyomi's plans so we can get to know each other." Urd nodded, feeling a bit more confident about her place in the world as a result from the blond's words.
The door to the room slid open causing all the people's attention to focus on the person entering. Kukaku smirked from the doorway as she said, "At last it looks like I get to meet with the famous Naruto Uzumaki."
One pair of eyes darted to the small form trying to sneak in behind the dark-haired woman. Rangiku spotting the diminutive Nel ran forward grabbing her ear as she said, "There you are you little brat did you think I wouldn't notice your disappearing act."
"But you didn't," the slender Cyan Sung-Sun said snidely. "You required others to point this out to you."
"Tier, I'm going pretty sick and tired of your sycophants' comments," Rangiku said turning towards the three women. "I think it would be best if you remind them I'm not one to be trifled with."
The dark skinned Mila Rose grinned as she said, "Oh I think I'd like to see that."
"I hope you don't come to regret…" Rangiku began to say preparing to create some ash to teach the cocky women a lesson.
Yet she trailed off as Naruto placed a calming hand on her shoulder as he said, "Let's all calm down a moment shall we. It's going to be difficult to create a world of peace when we can't even achieve it in a single room." Rangiku calmed and even ignored a comment from Appaci as the tomboyish woman called her a coward. "Thank you Rangiku," the blond man said moving to take a seat on a plush chair.
Kukaku would admit that she was intrigued to see Rangiku back down so moved to sit in the chair opposite from him. Upon sitting down she placed a foot on the small coffee table between them showing off her pussy. To her surprise despite noticing her lack of modesty the blond's gaze didn't have any problem holding hers.
Kiyomi sitting on the couch closest to her lover also noticed Kukaku's display as well as the fact that it appeared some semen was leaking from her. Frowning the Bijuu asked, "And just where were you."
Before she could answer Nel stood up having taken a seat on one of the couches surrounding the two chairs, "Oh I know. She was in the hotsprings hugging some stranger. She kept making these weird noises as he grunted." Nel accentuated her statement by thrusting her hips in a fair imitation of the way she had seen Kukaku.
Kukaku smirked as she expected Kiyomi to lose her cool, but to her surprise it was Yoruichi who shouted, "What! You went out and found some random guy to fuck. What happened to all that pride you boast of?"
Kukaku glared at her sibling as she said heatedly, "What are you talking about?" Focusing on all her sisters that were bound to Naruto but primarily Kiyomi she said, "Did you honestly think I'd throw myself at this whelp the way the rest of you did? I believe that was why you showed me all those images of him enjoying those other women, wasn't it Kiyomi?"
"I showed you those images because they were the ones that I had access to," Kiyomi answered. "I merely wished to open your eyes to the benefits of taking on a human form. If you wish to experience those pleasures with random strangers be my guest."
"What are you all talking about?" Tier asked not sure why the room had gotten so tense. A question she could see was mirrored on both Mirajane and Urd's faces.
Yoruichi ignored the question as she focused on Kiyomi to say, "How can you say that…I thought you believed in father's prophecy as well?"
Before Kiyomi could answer Naruto said, "Yoruichi, the important thing is that all of you work together. I don't believe I'm a central part to your father's vision. It is simply my hope that you and your sisters will agree to use your powers to build a peaceful world we can all live in."
Yoruichi calmed from Naruto's words although Kukaku could see that her sister was of the belief the jinchuriki was central to the prophecy. She felt a little childish and self-conscious suddenly due to the young man's ignoring her discourteous display. She brought her foot down, something Kiyomi smirked about since Kukaku had ended her flashing of her lover. Kukaku felt annoyed by her sister so questioned rudely, "Ha, a punk like you thinks he's going to make a peaceful world. Don't be an idiot, our father worked to that end as well and he couldn't do it. What makes you think you can succeed where he failed?"
"I don't think I'll succeed where he couldn't," Naruto said causing the recently released Bijuu to stare at each other in confusion. "But then again I'm not acting alone either. I might not succeed, but we will. I'm simply asking that you will lend me your power so we can make your father's wish of a peaceful world a reality as well as my master's."
The Bijuu remained silent for several moments until Tier asked, "What would you ask of us?"
"For now, I believe Kiyomi needs your help to make the shipping company she owns prosperous again. Once we've achieved that, we can discuss the next steps we will need to take."
"We?" Urd asked her tone showing her surprise.
Naruto nodded as he answered, "Naturally. If a peaceful world is our end goal then it needs to be one that we can all enjoy. For that I'll need your input as well as your strength."
Kiyomi watched as a smile appeared on Urd's face, the first since her awakening. From the gesture the red-head was more sure than ever that Naruto was the key to the enigmatic words the Bijuu's father had left them. Yet as she had explained to the women of Naruto's harem she tended to take a long view of things and as such didn't doubt that in time the Bijuu sitting around her lover would find themselves bound to him. Even the headstrong Kukaku who she didn't doubt would continue to search out other men to deny there was anything special about the one sitting across from her. It would take some time, and perhaps even a little heartache, but in time she had little doubt the nine of them would move as one because they shared the same affections.
*****************************
Karin followed behind Gaara as he guided her to the room that housed the Suna council. Upon entering a section of the hall that was currently unoccupied the Kazekage said, "Despite my friendship with Naruto…"
"And now deeper familial connections," Karin couldn't help supplying with a smirk.
Gaara looked over his shoulder in mild annoyance as he added, "Yes despite those as well, do not expect me to simply go along with what you are proposing today. I need to be convinced this would be in the best interest of Suna as well as help move Naruto's ambition forward."
"I'm quite aware of that Lord Kazekage," Karin replied, "Which is why I insisted I make the pitch in front of your Council as well. I don't think you'd need to worry about your personal feeling getting in the way if I can get the council behind me."
Gaara didn't smile but she did detect a slight raising at the corner of his lips as he said, "Don't be so sure the council is as unbiased as you believe."
Karin frowned not sure what Gaara was implying but before she could ask they began to near the doors to the Council Chamber which was guarded by a pair of Jounin. The shinobi pushed the double doors open for them and Karin could see they were the last to arrive. Her gaze first fell on Temari, who she graced with a smile. She also recognized her younger brother Kankuro, and their former sensei Baki. She didn't recognize the other three men present, but knew they were likely the Councilors Sajo, Ryusa, and Goza. She had expected to find two empty chairs, one for the recently arrested Joseki, and the other for the revealed traitor Yura, who had been working for Sasori and had aided in letting Akatsuki enter the village. He had been killed by Naruto, when he had been used as a sacrifice by the organization to assume the form of Itachi in order to delay the Leaf Village's attempt to save Gaara. Despite it being over a year since then his seat had remained empty due to the councilors' inability to agree on a worthy successor.
However, to her great surprise both seats were taken and she understood what Gaara had meant as they were filled by Pakura and Maki. Nodding to the gathered councilors she said, "Greetings and thank you for taking the time to see me."
Karin frowned though as the bearded Goza said, "I assure you it wasn't by choice, but it would seem that our newest members have adopted a rather friendly attitude towards the village you call home. Perhaps not so surprising in…"
"I assume you are about to refer to my in fact being saved by a Leaf Shinobi," Pakura said speaking up heatedly making Karin suspect she had been the center of several discussions in regards to her views about the Leaf Village. "It would be a trait I happen to share with Lord Kazekage."
"True," Goza said, "Which is why I suppose he nominated you to the position."
"You mean besides my many years of service in which I took on every dangerous mission Suna handed me. I do have more S-ranked missions under my belt then all the members of this council combined," Pakura said angrily.
"That would be why I voted for your inclusion on the council," Goza stated calmly. He smiled as he noticed some of the anger bled from Pakura's face. "No, I can't say I'm surprised by your choice to allow the meeting, but I would admit to finding it surprising that you would Maki."
"I can't say I'm overly shocked by that considering I was to be Joseki's handpicked successor to the council," Maki said folding her hands on the table. "My own grievances with the Leaf Village are well known as well. However, considering that Joseki is currently in a jail cell because he couldn't let go of his own grievances, is it any wonder that I would wish not to follow in his footsteps. Furthermore, my time among the Training Force was…enlightening to say the least. I witnessed one Shinobi village put its trust in another to help them deal with a problem…"
"I think a better description would be that the Leaf Village used us to deal with a problem of their own making," Ryusa said annoyed with the whole situation.
Gaara spoke up to say, "Then I'm guessing you have chosen to ignore the fact that Joseki may have been aiding Danzou by trying to break-up the Training Force. Recently several former members of his hardliners have come forward and claimed Joseki asked them to cause trouble in order to have us call back our shinobi."
"With all due respect Lord Gaara, if you knew Joseki's hatred for Danzou you would find that as difficult to believe as I do," Ryusa said. "Also, I'm not quite sure how much trust I'd be willing to put in the word of a Root member that claims to have witnessed several of their meetings, even if the Leaf have vouched for the fact that she defected from the organization."
Maki leaned forward to say, "Then what about mine councilor Ryusa. I can attest that Joseki asked those of us that were Hardliners to disrupt the Training Force. I can only think of one person that would have directly benefited."
Sajo drew everyone's attention by clearing his throat before saying, "We didn't gather here to discuss the validity of Joseki's guilt or innocence. I did find it strange that Lord Kazekage would nominate you to Joseki's position though Maki. However, from your tone it's easy to ascertain that despite your years of being influenced by Joseki, you have made a break with his beliefs. I'm guessing Lord Kazekage has seen this as well which is why he felt it best not to punish you for your association with him. Yet, again these are matters best discussed later." He leveled a stare at his fellow councilors Goza and Ryusa as he added, "Plus do not forget gentlemen that I voted in favor of granting Karin this audience as well. I believe we are living in interesting times, something you might see if you allowed yourself to open your eyes to them a little." Focusing on Karin, he said, "Please begin my dear. I'm interested in seeing what you came here to pitch."
The red-head smiled politely as she said, "Thank you councilor. I know you are all busy people so I'll make it brief. Simply put I would like to open a branch office of the Great Tree Shipping Company here in Suna."
"Absolutely not," Goza said quickly, "Do you really take us for such fools that we would openly invite a member of the Leaf to open a company here that they could use to spy on us?"
"No, I can't say you would be a fool to have concerns about such a thing occurring. I would say you could be considered one for dismissing my proposal without even giving me the chance to explain it."
Temari snickered as Kankuro did his best to hide his amusement. Gazo though was anything but amused and was about to storm out till Sajo said, "It is an interesting proposition to be sure."
Gazo's jaw dropped before recovering to ask, "Have you lost your mind Sajo?"
"Hardly," the Councilor replied calmly, "I dare say I'm feeling extremely clear headed. Perhaps you should take a look at yourself before leveling such accusations." Meeting the eyes of the two councilors most opposed to what was being proposed he said, "For a moment lets recount how many times we've caught the Leaf spying on us in the last four or so years since Tsunade took over. Not counting the few times Jiraiya has stopped in our village I would put the number at zero. Not to mention did anyone notice how well the last batch of our genin did in the Chunin Exams. It was a steady improvement from the previous exams. As a matter of fact ever since the Leaf shared with us…let me repeat that, shared with us, some of the curriculum that they use at their own Academy our genin have continued to do better and better. I would attribute this to the fact that each successive group of genin to emerge from the Academy have been exposed to the Leaf's training methods for longer and longer periods. I truly look forward to the exam where the genin have only known those methods."
"What is your point?" Ryusa said dismissively.
"His point," Temari said speaking up, "Is that if the Leaf was so hellbent on our destruction they have a strange way of showing it."
"Exactly Lady Temari," Sajo said leaning forward, "I am currently the oldest member on this Council. I'm tired gentleman and ladies of always looking for some sinister plot in even the simplest of gestures. I have looked at the Leaf's past actions with the same distrust as you. Yet all I have ever scene is an honest and sincere desire to better relations between our two villages. I know we blamed the Leaf for causing a situation where our Daimyo would hire them over us. It could be argued that the old war hawks like us among the Leaf's power brokers built those conditions into the treaty to weaken us. But those Hawks have had their wings clipped. Would you wish to follow their example as more and more the youths of our village come to think of those from the Leaf as friends and allies? If so gentlemen, then I think you'll find yourselves pushed aside as they clamor for leadership that thinks as they do."
Karin nodded as she said, "Well said Lord Sajo. The Lady Kiyomi believes much the same as you. She believes we've entered a period where the Shinobi Villages not only want a true and lasting peace to settle on the land but are clamoring for it."
"I suspect she believes this hoping for a nice tidy profit as well," Ryusa said snidely.
"I can't deny we intend to profit from it, but then again so will the villages that agree to open their doors to our company."
"Really and how do you intend to deliver on that promise?" Goza asked skeptically.
Karin smiled as she pulled out several sheets of paper. Moving to Temari she asked, "Can you please hold this?" Upon Temari's taking the sheet from her, Karin instructed her to channel her chakra into it. The councilors were surprised when the paper split neatly in two. Karin smiled as she said, "Now I'm sure some of you have heard of the chakra paper that Konoha uses to help determine what element a person is strong in in order to maximize their strength in it. Here in Suna, you tend to take a trial and error approach. For some like Temari, the strength is apparent quite early. For others not so much, resulting in wasted time and effort. Yet, Suna has access to the same tree that the Leaf uses to create this paper."
"What is your point?" Goza said impatiently.
"The point is the reason you do not have access to this paper is because every tree you can harvest is used in the construction of your puppets. It's also why so many of the puppets in this village are hand-me-downs." Karin could see that the three male councilors were surprised by her knowledge, yet truthfully she hadn't needed any insight from Naruto's Suna lovers to reach that conclusion. All she had needed was to study the thriving black market that existed and in turn linked the Shinobi villages. Much as she had stated Konoha had the tree in abundance and it was used in everything from scrolls to the chakra paper she held. Suna had at some point managed to get its hands on the tree, but lacked the fertile lands required to grow it in any truly meaningful numbers. As a result they turned to the black market where the paid a highly inflated price, something they still did despite being allies with Konoha for years.
"I'm guessing that you believe should we allow you to open a branch office here you'll be able to supply us that chakra paper," Sajo said clearly interested since it would help improve the training process of their genin and chunin.
Karin nodded, "I have already negotiated a contract with the Hokage that has given me access to not just the chakra paper, but the unrefined wood you would need to create new puppets. Imagine the innovations you could come up with if you didn't need to fear wasting a precious resource on experimental designs."
The Uzumaki smiled as she saw the two councilors Goza and Ryusa share a look of interest. It faded as Gaara said, "A tempting offer, but I'm sure that in order to make this work the Leaf made some requests of you to secure from us on their behalf."
She could see the distrust appear in the two men's faces again as Ryusa seconded, "Yes, what exactly would the Leaf require?"
"The deal I made is already done. So whether or not you wish to supply any items for trade, I still have a ton of wood I need to get rid of and plan to sell it to you at a significant discount from what the black market would charge you," Karin said after a moment's pause. "With that being said I know the Leaf is interested in some of the flowers that you have access to and only grow out in the harshest of environments. Whether I can secure them from you at a price that makes it worth my while to sell we'll have to wait and see. But considering how the black market has gouged you guys over the year I imagine there is quite a lot of margin I stand to make."
"Lord Gaara," Sajo said as Karin ended her speech, "I for one would vote that we allow the Great Tree Shipping Company to open an office here. It is something that would only benefit our shinobi in the end."
"I second it," Goza said quickly surprising many of those present, "Although I find it difficult to trust the Leaf Village, I can't see them allowing this to happen if they had hostile intentions. With the money we stand to save on procuring supplies, we could double or even triple our puppet production."
Gaara folded his hands as he said, "I agree. Karin there would be a few other items I would like the Leaf Village to make available to us. I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. For this new office do you have someone in mind to run it?"
"Not at the moment," Karin said before adding, "But I'm sure eventually someone will appear that's capable enough."
*****************************
Guren finished covering a Leaf Jounin in crystal before turning to face the wall surrounding the village of Konoha. Behind her the Jounin's eyes darted back and forth as he groaned through the small breathing tube she had left him. Although she would give anything to see Yukimaru again, the cold blooded killer she had been died with him and while Kabuto said he needed a distraction she would not dirty her hands again for his sake.
Charging a wall as the moon disappeared behind some clouds; she picked a weakened section of the wall that appeared unoccupied and created several crystalline dragons. She mounted the last one as the others smashed through the weakened structure as shouts of alarm were raised. Leaping from the last dragon as it reached the wall she leapt to the top of it as her crystal dragons distracted the shinobi on duty. She landed in front of several chunin that had been about to attack her jutsu from above and slamming her hands to the ground sent a wave of crystal that captured and then encased them.
She coated her arm in a crystal blade which she used to deflect kunai thrown at her from the opposite side of the opening her jutsu had made in the wall. Running away from the shinobi by running through the crystal formations she had created to entrap the chunin, she heard the people behind her curse as several leapt in pursuit. Guren used the moment she disappeared from their view to leap from the wall as she made her way to her target.
Hiding in the shadows of a nearly demolished building, she watched as several shinobi including a nin-dog landed in the area before cursing and splitting up to search for her. She was just about move when one of the shinobi nearly surprised her by flying through the wall she was pressed against. Leaping back, she recognized the youth as one of the shinobi that had opposed her during her mission to capture the Three-Tails for Orochimaru.
Kiba growled as he crouched in front of her saying, "I thought I recognized your scent, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering those crystal dragons back there."
"Get out of my way," Guren shouted not in the mood to banter with the youth, "You have something that doesn't belong to you."
"Are you talking about that boy we brought back?" Kiba said heatedly. "It's thanks to you and that snake bastard that he's dead. We simply gave him a place where he can rest peaceful."
"I don't have time to explain, but I'm trying to correct that mistake. Now move!"
"Make me," Kiba shouted charging the woman with his partner that had taken on his form. Leaping the final distance, he attempted to slash at her face and managed to score a hit but winced as it felt like his nails wanted to be pulled from his fingers.
Guren slammed her crystal incased fist into Akamaru's stomach causing the dog to whimper as it collapsed around the blow. It reverted to dog form before leaping out of the way as Kiba smashed into her back using fang over fang. The attack lifted the woman off of her feet as they smashed into and through the wall of a ruined building. Despite her crystal armor Guren worked herself to her feet slowly as did Kiba due to his jutsu failing to penetrate. Guren looked back from her kneeling position and backhanded the Inuzuka so that he landed on his back. She heard a growling and turned to see Akamaru leaping at her from the hole they had made.
Picking up the still dazed Kiba by his jacket, she threw him at the animal causing them to crash into each other. She then encased them in a crystal dome before they could recover. She sensed it as dozen of shinobi surrounded her location with one of them calling, "Surrender, and come out with your hands in the air or else we will come in after you."
Guren cursed since although a part of her mission was to distract the Leaf. She needed to secure her own objective as well. Creating a jade mirror, she created a dozen copies which all began to exit from the crystal object. From outside the man that had assumed command said, "You have until the count of three to comply."
"Don't worry," Guren said to herself, "Here we come." The Jounin outside got as far as one before more Guren than he could handle appeared from the hole to sow chaos in the Leaf.
*****************************
Naruto was nestled in his bed with Konan, Mabui, Yugito, and Ino when he suddenly shot up in it waking all four kunoichi. Having returned from Tanzaku town to find the three non Konoha women waiting for him, they had quickly made the most of their time together. After things had settled down, Ino had joined them in order to sleep in the same bed as their shared lover. The reason for his sudden concern was due to the clone of himself and of Ino dispelling to alert him that the village was under attack.
"What's wrong," Konan asked having come instantly awake.
"I'm sorry it looks like somebody has decided to attack the village. Probably looking to test us our readiness," The jinchuriki answered as he pulled his clothes back on. Throwing his cloak on he said, "It looks like whoever it is has the ability to create crystals."
Ino had been in the midst of following her lover's example but paused due to his statement about the nature of the attacker's jutsu. "It must be her."
"Huh, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked turning to face Ino.
"I think I know who the attacker may be," Ino answered as she pressed herself to Naruto. "Hiraishin us to Tsunade."
Naruto nodded and the pair disappeared in a red flash to reappear near the Hokage's office. Bursting in, they found the room filled with other members of the village's power structure, who turned towards them, Ino quickly moved forward to join the other councilors and village leaders as she said, "Thanks Naruto for Hirashining me here. I'm glad I ran into you." Focusing on Tsunade she said, "I heard the attacker can use crystals she may be…"
"The woman that helped to prevent us from banishing the Three-tails," The Hokage said cutting her off, "Yes we know. That detail has been confirmed by Kiba although he is currently trapped in a crystal dome. Unfortunately, she's managed to slip through our fingers after defeating several squads that had cornered her and has several clones running through the village causing havoc on the east side of it"
Ino frowned as that was on the opposite side of the village from what she imagined Guren's goal was. Believing the clones were a feint she asked, "What about the guards protecting the cemetery?"
"We've pulled several squads to track her down and to help deal with those crystal dragons," Ibiki answered.
"That's where she's heading," Ino said confidently, "I think she's here to reclaim Yukimaru's body."
Tsunade frowned as she said, "That might not be the only person planning to take advantage of us pulling the guards tasked with protecting our dead. Yuugao, send every available shinobi to protect the cemetery. Also somebody have the units still in place check in." Tsunade nodded her head towards Ino telling the kunoichi she wanted her to follow as she said, "I'm heading to the hospital to help with the wounded. Ino follow me, there are a few things I want to ask you about your encounter with this woman."
Ino nodded and wasn't surprised to find that Naruto was already gone, and from what she could feel had likely left as soon as she pinpointed where she believed Guren was or was heading. As soon as she was alone with the Hokage, Tsunade said, "Find Yakumo. I have a special task for the two of you."
"What's that?"
"You're going to dig up what's buried in Rin's grave."
"Oh joy," Ino said sarcastically wondering if she should have perhaps stayed in bed.
****************************
"Squad seventy-one report in," a female voice called out from a headset of the shinobi that Guren had just knocked unconscious as she took it off his body. Looking about the cemetery, she could hear the fresh clones she had created battling the other squads that were trying to converge on her position. Having once snuck into the Leaf Village to visit Yukimaru's grave, she knew exactly where she needed to go in the portion of the cemetery reserved for civilians. Looking at a nearby wall she knew separated the shinobi portion of the graveyard, she wondered if Kabuto had come and gone already. Considering just how few shinobi had leapt over the wall to engage her and her clones upon her being spotted, she wouldn't be surprised if Kabuto had created a demand for more holes to be dug.
Stepping in front of Yukimaru's grave, she clasped her hands in a hand-sign causing the ground to shake before a crystal dragon appeared with his coffin inside its body. From the headset she had liberated she heard a voice call out, "Hell yeah, Naruto's here and he's smashing these crystal clones like nobody's business."
Guren frowned as she felt a sensation which confirmed the report. Leaping onto the dragon, she created as many clones as her dwindling chakra reserves would support so as to buy time for herself and sent them in the direction she could felt her clones disappearing. Directing her dragon to flee in the opposite one, she looked back in time to see a blond man charging her despite the mass of clones closing on him. He pulled a kunai that he threw at her, but Guren countered with a crystal shuriken that knocked it out of the air even as the blond teleported to it.
Guren breathed a sigh of relief as her clones swarmed the young man upon his reappearing near the kunai while she focused forward intent on meeting with Kabuto and claiming her reward.
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Tsunade stepped into the shinobi portion of the village's cemetery followed by Ibiki and Yuugao. She felt her rage grow as she saw the dead shinobi that had been tasked with guarding the place. Looking back at Yuugao, she asked, "Do we think this Guren character was working with Kabuto?"
"I'm not sure," Yuugao answered, "According to the mission report Shizune and Yamato filed it had appeared that Guren had a falling out with Kabuto. I find it hard to believe she would work with him again, although the timing of her and his attack is unlikely to be a coincidence."
"Everyone has a price," Ibiki said crouching down to inspect a dead shinobi that worked in his department, "Considering what Kabuto disturbed these graves for it is likely she may have aided him to bring back the boy whose body she took."
Tsunade sighed as she said, "That would be a theory that those who were on the mission where we first encountered her support as well. Yet, considering there were no fatalities among the people that she encountered during her assault it would seem she's no longer the same woman that was encountered then. That leaves me to wonder how she would take advantage of a jutsu that requires a human sacrifice."
Turning to face Ibiki, she asked, "Do we know what DNA Kabuto acquired?"
"From the disturbed graves it would appear Master Chen, Asuma Sarutobi, Hayate Gekko…" Ibiki paused as he appeared uncomfortable due to Yuugao's gasp.
Although aware of the pain her fellow Harem member must be feeling, Tsunade forced him to push on as she asked, "Is that it?"
"No Milday," Ibiki said gravely, "The other disturbed graves would include Rin Nohara's, as well as Dan Kato's and Mito Uzumaki."
The color drained from Tsunade's face as she heard the last two names and was quite suddenly alerted to the fact that the pain she had assumed Yuugao must be going through wasn't even close to what she thought. The dread of facing loved ones felt almost crippling, but Tsunade pushed the dread and fear away as she rounded on her heel.
"Lady Tsunade where are you going?" Ibiki called out after his retreating leader's back.
"I'm going to plant my foot on a snake's skull before he can put his recently acquired DNA to use," Tsunade called back.
"I'll gather a squad…"
"Don't bother," Tsunade said as Naruto appeared sensing his two lovers' emotions, "My squad's just arrived."
Naruto sent a concerned glance towards Yuugao, but sensing Tsunade's determination followed after her intent on finding the person responsible for the anger she felt.
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Kabuto smiled as he finished preparing the scroll he meant to use against Naruto when next they met. He heard the sound of something large approaching so turned to see Guren riding on her dragon shaped jutsu. Leaping from it, she landed in front of him prompting him to say, "Impressive, you really did a marvelous job of distracting the Leaf. It's a shame that you're so diminished mentally though. Wouldn't your task have been much simpler if you had killed the shinobi you faced?"
"What do you care?" Guren snapped, "You got what you wanted now it's time you honor your side of the bargain."
"Very well," Kabuto said as the crystal dragon disappeared leaving the coffin behind. "However, I don't see the sacrifice that you require."
"Leave that to me," Guren said turning away as Kabuto pulled the coffins lid loose.
She held her hand to her mouth as she heard the sickening sound of flesh being cut before Kabuto said, "There all finished. Now where is the sacrifice?"
"It's me," Guren said facing the hooded man.
"Really," Kabuto said, "Aren't you being rather trusting of me? What's to stop me from using Yukimaru to my own ends?"
"You have no use for him," Guren replied. "If you did you would never have allowed him to push himself so far. This means his ability was unique to the Three-Tails and with it in Akatsuki's hands you have no need for a means to control it."
"True," Kabuto said, "Then what do you want me to tell him happened to you?"
Tell him…tell him that he saved me," Guren said dropping to her knees as Kabuto approached with the scroll.
"I think that would be a matter of debate," Kabuto said placing the scroll on the ground as he activated the jutsu.
A pattern spread along the ground towards the woman as flakes of clay, ash and dirt began to cover her. Guren could feel Yukimaru's spirit begin to surround her, but then the feeling vanished as the flakes covering her fell to the ground. Shocked by the sudden change Guren stared up at Kabuto in desperation as she asked, "What happened!"
"It would appear this is another failure," Kabuto replied with a shrug, "I figured this might happen. Sometimes when a spirit is truly at peace they can't be manifested in this world. It seems Yukimaru had no regrets about sacrificing himself for you Guren. You should be happy."
Tears began leaking from Guren's eyes as she broke down in sobs and began to pound the ground. Kabuto shook his head at the display having a hard time picturing the woman before him as the feared kunoichi that had served Orochimaru. Although tempted to leave her in her misery, he figured now would be as good a time as ever to put his experiment into motion. Switching the scroll he said, "Fear not Guren if you truly wish to be a sacrifice. I'll oblige you."
Changing the scroll to the one he had prepared before her arrival he again activated the jutsu causing the ash to begin covering the woman again. For a moment he saw the will to live appear in Guren's eyes before she discarded it and just before she was completely covered thought he heard her thank him. The covering surrounding his sacrifice hardened and took the shape of a woman he remembered seeing in his history books. Despite dying as an old woman under mysterious circumstances, Kabuto had chosen to resurrect her looking like she had while in her mid-twenties.
Mito Uzumaki stared blankly forward before he summoned a casket to store her in. For a moment he wondered if he should use a different pawn for his experiment, but rejected it due to his not wanting to potentially sacrifice a more valuable pawn. Still he knew virtually nothing about Mito's abilities so wondered if she would even offer Naruto a challenge. However, her true value was the emotional attachment she possessed with Tsunade and if Kabuto wished to see Naruto's ability to give true life to those brought back by Edo Tensei, he would need to play off of the attachment he knew the jinchuriki had for the current Hokage.
The white snake that was a part of him appeared from beneath his robe as its head faced towards Konoha. Sensing the people approaching he smiled as he said, "My, how very kind of you two to be so accommodating." Causing the coffin to disappear into the ground, he created a clone to welcome those in pursuit and to activate the trap while he found a safe place from which to observe what happened next.