77: Moving Forward by Standing Still: Part IV

Pakura stepped out of her office in the Kazekage mansion, and locked it behind her. She began making her way out of the office and noticed that Ameno was also calling it quits for the evening. The woman upon noticing her inclined her head politely before asking, "Another late night Councilor."

"Afraid so," Pakura replied having decided to stay late since she knew Matsuri was supposed to be out on a date with Naruto, "I've been roped into organizing all the hotel accommodations for the visiting teams for the first portion of the test. But, since we still haven't finalized the number of participants, I'm only guessing at the number of rooms that we'll need to accommodate everyone." She had felt Naruto teleport to the roof earlier, and figured that Gaara must have gotten word that he was in the village so had made his desire to speak with him known. She was starting to regret her decision since she could begin to feel the pleasure of the other woman at the Hidden Oasis Inn filling the fox network letting her know that she was missing out. Still, although she was in a hurry to get home in order to join in the fun, she knew winning over the new councilor and head of Suna's Medical Program would be a benefit to her Family. Therefore, she took the opportunity to chat with the woman by adding, "So because of that, our illustrious hotel proprietors are asking that we rent out their entire buildings rather than guessing on how many rooms we might need."

Ameno could hear the scorn in Pakura's voice so asked, "It would seem that you are rather opposed to the idea."

Pakura hadn't meant to sound as sour about it as she did. But she had been locked in a room dealing with most of the hotel owners all day, and would admit to feeling a little disgruntled due to most of them being unwilling to work with her. Making an effort to sound less annoyed she said, "I'm not opposed. I can actually understand where they are coming from. If we guess too low then we have a royal clusterfuck as there are not enough rooms for everyone, and no guarantees we would have the rooms available. But, on the flip side, if I guess too high, then there are a bunch of unused rooms that they are getting paid for regardless of if they are being used or not." Ameno nodded in understanding so she added, "I tried to work out a compromise where we would rent out several floors for each village, and let them work out the sleeping arrangements. But, they were against that arrangement since they began bickering over who would get what village in their hotel."

Ameno seemed surprised by that so asked, "Why do they care?"

Pakura sighed, since she had thought it was a rather good compromise considering their complaints about needing exact numbers so as to not lose out on potential revenue. Especially since their reason for rejecting her compromise was because they began bickering among themselves over who would get to house Kumo or Konoha. She gave a smile which showed her annoyance while she explained, "Because the exams also feature villages like Rain and Grass along with Kumo and Konoha."

A look of understanding appeared on the medic's face before she said, "Ah, so although relatively fair, they didn't want to settle since someone would get to host Rain which might only require a single floor while the Cloud Village would require several."

Pakura nodded, before responding, "I'm afraid so. So rather than take a chance that a competitor would win the chance to host one of the larger villages. They all stonewalled me with the demand we rent out all their rooms."

Ameno giggled causing Pakura to scowl at her, prompting her to say, "Sorry, but at least they showed some solidarity. Unlike our council meetings."

Pakura chuckled guessing that she could see why the younger woman would find some amusement towards her predicament. "It doesn't do me a whole lot of good if all the genin we are hosting have to sleep in tents. I would currently love someone with the same views as a Hardliner who would disagree with me just because I called the sun yellow."

The Suna medic gave her a slightly amused grin, although it didn't display as much mirth as before. Pakura suspected it was due to her joke taking a potshot at the group that was politically motivated to oppose bringing the Shinobi Villages closer together. She knew the woman wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea, especially due to her willingness to work with Konoha. But, at the same time the woman also had backed several Hardliner proposals, especially in regards to Iwagakure.

Ameno hadn't declared her allegiance to the Hardliners, just as she hadn't pledged it to Gaara's faction on the Council. But, Pakura was aware that Ameno's willingness to work with Konoha could be born of a similar desire as had been behind Joseki's willingness to work with Danzou. Mainly she simply needed Konoha to further her ambitions, and was using the current spirit of collaboration to her benefit. Pakura hoped that wasn't the case, but figured she would know soon enough depending on how the Alliance fared during the coming difficulties.

Pakura hoping to recapture the more amical moment they had been sharing before the potential misstep from her joke asked, "What has you stuck in the office at such a late hour? I figured there would be some young man looking to keep you company."

She noticed a slight look of discomfort appear on the younger woman's face, which caught Pakura by surprise. Particularly since she had been quite aware the woman wasn't seeing anyone. Not only that, but it had appeared Ameno had never really had a meaningful relationship that might explain her reaction. Despite the orgy starting back home, Pakura found herself rather curious about what had prompted the reaction.

Ameno recovered from the apparent memory that had sparked her response to Pakura's question to reply good naturedly, "Perhaps if there was someone at home waiting for me, I wouldn't lose track of time while working on improvements for our medical program."

Pakura thought she detected a hint of longing in the woman's voice. She considered inviting her over to the Hidden Oasis Inn. But, she figured considering the scene they would likely walk in on, that would be like throwing her in the deep end of a pool without warning. Furthermore, she suspected there might be more at play with the woman since she doubted it would be hard for her to find a partner. Hoping to learn more about the young jounin she asked, "How about we go out to get a few drinks to relax after the full days that we've just put in?"

Ameno looked rather surprised by the offer, but then an appreciative smile graced her lips before she replied, "I'd like that."

Pakura returned the smile before motioning towards the entertainment district and saying, "Lead the way." As they headed off towards the entrance of the village where most of the drinking establishments resided Pakura felt a little disappointment that she was missing out on some Naruto time, but she figured she'd eventually make it up and then some especially if she was key to the Medical Jounin joining the Family. Something she imagined that she would take great pleasure in witnessing.

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Naruto drank in the moans of Matsuri, Sen, and Rikku. Matsuri was throwing her hips back into him as he fucked her, while the other two women rolled their hips appreciatively as he fingered their snatches. Their pussies were making wet squelching noises while he rapidly worked his index and middle fingers inside them. Kashike and Quistis had their hands placed on the table like the others, but were at opposite ends of the line of women, while Selphie was between Sen and Quistis. They stared at him while squirming slightly as they wanted for their turn to receive either his cock or fingers. Feeling Matsuri's already incredibly tight pussy beginning to bare down on him, Naruto was conflicted about which direction he should step since he wanted to begin getting the other women involved.

But, having decided to forgo creating a clone since he wanted to handle their pleasure personally he knew he couldn't do both. As such, he decided to pull out of Matsuri causing her to let out a moan of loss which was joined by Sen and Rikku's when he removed his fingers from their dripping snatches. He then stepped to his right and thus closer to Kashike. He plunged his dick into Rikku causing the Al Bhed to cry out happily while her pussy spread out around his manhood.

Pumping his dick inside her, he raised his cream coated fingers to the faces of the women to either side of him. Matsuri and Kashike eagerly accepted them and began to suck and run their tongues over them. When his fingers were clean of the essence which had coated them, he brought his hands to the women's cunts which he began rubbing in preparation of burying them inside to coat them in more honey.

He looked over to see how Quistis, Selphie, and Sen were faring in his absence. He smiled upon seeing that the two kunoichi had each removed one hand from the table in order to rub the other woman's cunt. They noticed his gaze, and perhaps hoping to entice him their way they leaned towards each other and began kissing wetly. Their actions certainly worked in enticing him, although it was Rikku who received most of the benefit due to his dick growing larger inside her. Naruto also began slamming forward into her even harder causing the Al Bhed to moan out in her language. Naruto smiled loving the way she slipped into it whenever she was feeling particularly good.

He withdrew his fingers from pleasing Kashike and Matsuri to grab Rikku by the hips as he decided to even the odds a bit. Using his grip on her hips, he lifted her so that her feet could barely touch the ground and began hammering his cock into her core. Rikku's cries picked up in intensity, and fearing he was going to withdraw like he had with Matsuri, raised her legs up so she could cross her ankles behind his back.

Naruto had no intentions of leaving her in such a state so hooked his arms under her shoulders to pull her back towards him. With her back now pressed against his chest, she hooked her feet inside his knees to cling to him while Naruto bounced her on his dick. She shook her head back and forth, and her cries grew louder as Kashike and Matsuri each took a breast to suckle.

The two women helped bring about the climax that Rikku so greatly desired as they linked fingers and together rubbed her clit. The blonde woman cried out "E's Lissegk!!!!" in her native tongue which Naruto didn't exactly need to know the language to understand that she was cumming due to the way her pussy was trying to milk him for his cum. He rode it out while grinding his dick deeper into her to drag out her pleasure. She sagged in his arms as Matsuri and Kashike stepped back, so he easily lifted her into his arms before gently setting her down in a chair. He kissed her lips tenderly before turning to see how his lovers had rearranged themselves while he had gotten Rikku situated.

He found that Matsuri was now sitting on the table with Sen kneeling before her and was working her middle finger in and out of the kunoichi's honeypot. The blonde would occasionally lean in to lick up the honey she was producing causing Matsuri to moan into Quistis's mouth as they kissed. The Suna instructor kept her hands busy by running them over Matsuri's body occasionally fondling a breast or teasing a nipple.

Kashike though had remained off to the side, and seeing Naruto had set Rikku down quickly approached him. She pressed herself into his body smashing her large breasts into his chest while she pulled his mouth into hers. Their tongues fenced against one another until she was distracted by his reaching up to group one of her breasts. She pulled back enough so that he could roll it around while squeezing the soft malleable flesh. He caused her to pull her mouth from his to moan by tweaking her hardened nipple. This allowed him to lower his mouth to her other breast which he began sucking greedily causing her to wrap her hands around his head to encourage him to do it more.

Naruto truly didn't need encouraging, although he didn't necessarily consider himself a breast man. In truth, he found he loved all the various forms the female body came in. As such he tried to tailor his actions to the woman that he was with as opposed to his preferences, since his Harem lifestyle truly meant that he never had to form such inclinations. This also allowed him to focus on what truly attracted him to the various women he had taken as lovers, their shining spirits which where what helped guide him in what he needed to do.

At the moment, that was what guided him to switch to Kashike's other tit which he hefted to his mouth before latching on. She moaned gratefully, and Naruto attributed some of the response to her having had similar issues about her chest as Samui had. Particularly due to her having spent her youth pretending to be a man so as to be judged on an even playing field. He could easily imagine her cursing her expanding bust upon hitting puberty, due to it becoming harder and harder to hide them. In fact, shortly after becoming his lover she had gone through another growth spurt so was slightly taller than his Five foot eleven inches. It also made her his tallest lover as well. Yet, he imagined the sudden growth of her breasts had brought back a few of the concerns from her academy days.

Concerns he hoped his actions banished, as he began to kiss down her body so as to not neglect any part of it. He dropped to his knees before her, and after staring at her pussy for a moment causing her to blush, quickly dove in causing her to cry out. Naruto devoured her snatch with the same eagerness he had just paid to her breasts. Kashike's hands buried themselves in his hair as she pulled him tighter against her muff. Kashike ground her cunt against his face and as she came closer and closer to cumming began to speed up her gyrations. She reached up and began to paw at her tits as she reached nirvana and coated Naruto's chin in her cream. She felt weak kneed from her release, causing Naruto to quickly stand in order to support her. He guided her towards the table which she leaned against while he moved to stand behind the still kneeling Sen. Then he grabbed her by her hips to guide her up to her feet, at which point he buried his cock deep inside her.

Sen pulled her mouth from Matsuri's quim to cry out in contentment from being filled with Naruto once more. He gave her a few moments to grow reacquainted with the feeling before he began slowly pumping his length within her. He moved slowly savoring the feeling while Sen returned to her cunninglingus on Matsuri. He was hugged from behind and found that Selphie who had been waiting for a moment to join in, much like Quitis, had come up behind him. She ran her hands over his chest and he looked over his shoulder to kiss her.

After a few moments of tongue play with Selphie, he turned away to focus on Sen as she began pushing back into him. He gripped her hips more firmly and began slamming into her with stronger strokes. Sen whimpered into Matsuri's silken folds and he felt her begin squeezing his shaft with her cunt trying to stave off her climax. But, it proved extra difficult as Quistis pulled away from making out with Matsuri to reach under Sen and tease her pussy. The instructor stared at Naruto hungrily while she tried to get her fellow Blonde kunoichi off due to her feeling a little neglected since he had yet to touch her.

Naruto reached out for her, gripping the back of her head he pulled her into a kiss. Their tongues danced while they both tried to get Sen to climax. A task that didn't prove overly difficult due to their teamwork. Quistis triggered her release by pressing on her clit, while Naruto buried his dick deep into her as her pussy spasmed around him. He had to fight from cumming himself since he had a specific womb he intended to deposit his seed in. The desire to fill Sen though nearly grew too great due to her pussy's insistent milking forcing him to pull out.

But, if he was hoping for a respite from pleasure it was short lived since as soon as his dick appeared from Sen's velvet sheath, Quistis quickly lunged forward and captured it with her mouth. Naruto groaned while temporarily trapped between the teacher sucking his dick, who had dropped into some of the space Sen had been occupying as she had fallen to her knees and current gripping the edge of the table to prevent from face planting into the floor, and the brown-haired kunoichi behind him. Despite his resolve, his hands sought out Quistis's hair and he began pumping his cock into her mouth. His head was turned to the side and he once more found his lips sealed against Selphie's.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sen moving to the side of Matsuri as she used the table to climb back to her feet. Feeling on the verge of erupting, he Hiraishined from between Quistis and Selphie to appear before Matsuri, who was rubbing her pussy while she watched. Naruto gripped her by the hips, and pulling her to the edge of the table then slammed his dick inside her. She came immediately having been on edge almost as long as Naruto had been. He only managed several pumps himself before her massaging cunt coaxed his seed from him. Matsuri cried out as a second orgasm washed over her body causing lay back and spread out on the large table. Pulling out of her, Naruto felt a little weak kneed from his climax due to his having deprived himself his gratification for so long. He took quite a bit of pride from the sight of his thick seed beginning to leak almost immediately from her giving a hint of just how much he had deposited inside.

But, before he could pat himself on the back too much Quistis reached from between his legs and began tenderly stroking his dick as she said plaintively, "Naruto, you haven't done anything with me yet."

He shivered from her pleasurable actions. He turned to face her, and kneeling before her said, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. But, it felt right that Matsuri's womb would be the first to drink my cum tonight." He noticed Kashike also appeared rather anxious so guessed she wanted a chance to cum from his dick as well so said, "Why don't you and Selphie get together so I can fuck both your pussies?"

Selphie quickly dropped down to the ground while the instructor climbed on top of her. He took a moment to enjoy the sight of the two women's shaved mounds pressed together before crawling up to them. Sliding the tip of his dick over their two slits, he gripped Quistis by her hips and pushed inside. She arched her back from feeling him split her open, and let out a content coo when she felt his dick press against her womb. He began slowly but just before he really began going he suddenly withdrew causing her to moan in frustration.

Selphie though let out a moan filled with contentment, which Quistis saw reflected in the woman's face. She knew Naruto was giving her a similar build up, and then their roles were reversed as he was suddenly back inside her. It felt as if he had never left since he seemed to pick up at the same pace and intensity that he had been at before his sudden withdrawal. He began building up again causing her to shift into a new level of pleasure, before again he slipped free of her gripping pussy. Selphie let out a cry which Quistis, now delirious with the desire to keep her pleasure going, silenced by clamping her mouth to the Chunin's. Selphie's tongue soon engaged hers, and when Naruto pulled out. She fell into a similar need as Quistis had displaced since her kiss grew twice as aggressive. The Instructor responded to it, although it was difficult to maintain the same passion due to her concentrating on how good it felt with Naruto buried inside her.

Naruto felt his need for release quickly returning as he switched from pounding Quistis's snatch back to Selphie, but looking up he smiled as he saw someone watching them from the cracked door of the dining area's entrance. He waved her in, and a naked Seramu stepped into the room. She knelt next to Naruto while stating, "If I knew Matsuri wasn't going to keep you to herself tonight, I definitely would have left the office much sooner."

Naruto chuckled at the current head of the Suna branch office for the Great Tree Shipping Company before replying, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't regret working hard."

He felt Selphie begin to tighten around him, so quickly switched back to pistoning his cock into Quistis. Having been driving into both women at full steam for a while, the Suna instructor was also teetering on the precipice of release. Naruto pulled Quistis up to her knees so that her back rested against his chest and turned her face to kiss her. He then reached down to where they were connected to tease her clit which caused her to erupt. Naruto didn't fight his desire to fill her with his seed as he buried his cock deep inside her, and after several spurts pulled out to bury his cock deep inside Selphie.

He pumped his dick several times which mixed with the warm cum he was also releasing inside her caused her to join in with the cries of pleasure. Naruto let Quistis fall forward as he and she finished experiencing their orgasms while Selphie was still in the midst of hers. The Brown-haired Chunin also settled down after a moment so Naruto stood causing his churned seed to begin leaking out.

Naruto although often enjoying the sight couldn't bask in the moment as Seramu demand attention. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and sealed her lips to his. They kissed tenderly at first, but it soon grew heated. Having grown a little uncomfortable from kneeling for so long, he struggled a little as he stood due to his needing to pick Sara's daughter up as well. It did become easier as she quickly wrapped her legs around his hips. He felt a presence come up behind him pulling away from Seramu's lips to look over his shoulder saw Rikku had recovered and was now licking up the seed escaping from the two women he had just pleasured. He carried Seramu to the chair that the Al Bhed had just been occupying and sat down. Seramu quickly planted her feet on the floor and grabbed his still sensitive prick to guide it into her love canal.

They moaned in unison while she slid down his shaft until he was deep inside her. She leaned back and staring where they connected said in a throaty whisper, "I'm so glad my Dream Warrior is so well endowed. I love how deep you go inside me." She traced her fingers up her body until where he felt his cockhead was nestled against the entrance of her womb.

She then began raising up slowly letting out a pleased moan as his dick slowly appeared from within her until just the tip was still left inside. She then let gravity take hold to slam back down onto him. She repeated the action several times until she was vigorously bouncing in his lap. Naruto let her set the pace while he licked and nuzzled her bouncing breasts. Seramu cooed appreciatively as he sucked one of her nipples into his mouth while he gave her other tit a firm squeeze. Her pussy gripped his rod tightly and she began grinding her pussy into his pelvis.

Naruto groaned and gripped her hips pulling her tighter against him as she began really grinding her pussy against him. Her moans grew in volume as she moved faster and faster until she suddenly went completely still while biting her lip. Naruto groaned out, since despite her body seemingly having become a statue, her insides were anything but. They coiled and squeezed his cock causing him to release his cum deep within her. The feeling of warmth flooding her triggered a secondary climax within Seramu causing her to lean back as she cried out in bliss. She eventually slammed back into him in order to pepper his face with kisses.

His dick began to soften until it eventually slipped from within her allowing some of his cum to leak out. He and Seramu made out lightly enjoying the post orgasmic glow of their lovemaking. But, eventually Naruto let out another moan as a tongue began licking the tip of his cock. He looked over Seramu's shoulder to see Kashike nuzzling his dick back to life.

Noticing that she got his attention she said, "I hope you aren't done for the evening. I'm still counting three of us that didn't get a taste of your cum inside our pussies."

Quistis sat up from where she had been softly kissing Selphie to add, "Technically, Selphie and I only received half the usual amount as well."

Seramu smiled at him stating, "The way they're clamoring on perhaps I should bottle your cum and sell it."

"That's easy for you to say," Rikku said replying to the woman's teasing, "You already received a belly full."

Seramu smiled as she stood from Naruto's lap and replied, "Then let me get out of the way so you can rectify that."

Almost as soon as Seramu had cleared his lap, Kashike swallowed his flaccid cock and began teasing it back to hardness. When he was standing erect again, she let him slip free of her lips only for Sen to begin bobbing her head over his manhood. She soon gave room for Rikku, who began licking it since both Quistis and Selphie had also taken spots around him. Naruto drank in the sight of the five women each taking turns sucking or licking his cock. He looked up to see that both Seramu and Matsuri had moved some chairs near each other to watch and were gently rubbing the other woman's quim.

Guessing that for the moment they were satisfied with their fill of his cum, he imagined that might change once he came inside Selphie or Quistis again, since then the math would show them as technically having received more. He knew he could try to even it out, but decided the best way to handle the situation was to pleasure each of his lovers until they were completely exhausted. Deciding to get started he selected Rikku to be first since she had gone without the longest, so positioned her so that she was on all fours. Crouching down behind her, he slipped into her causing her to moan out but was silenced by Selphie who kissed her, before sitting before her with her legs spread. Rikku accepted the invitation so dove in-between her thighs to begin licking her snatch, and although still somewhat concerned with how Gaara would react to the argument they had earlier that night. He knew in his heart that so long as he was responsible for the happiness of the women of his Family, then he needed to take whatever risks were required of him to secure it. Even if that meant going against the wishes of close friends when necessary.

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Sage was henged as some random woman as she walked through a crowded village street in the Land of Rivers. The village which was called Rivertower due to its location on a large plateau around which various rivers intersected the area. She had been through the same area the day before, although then it had been simply to recon, since she was going to help her sister and Naruto begin the process of establishing the Menma identity that the blond man would assume. The first step of which was set to begin soon and first started with Naruko pretending to be Naruto since her water natured chakra would be required for the show they intended to put on.

Naruto meanwhile would be assuming the identity of one of the criminals that were suspected of having escaped from the Leaf Maximum Security Prison during the riot that had started just before the Training Force had stepped in to put down the impending rebellion brewing there. However, in truth the man that Naruto was pretending to be had died during the riot, but Ibuki had hidden that fact and disposed of the body to use it as a cover identity later. The man had ultimately been a small time missing-nin and crook, who was mainly connected to smuggling contraband in and out of the various Shinobi Villages. He had a tendency of talking big, but really had lacked the skills or the drive to make it to the next level. As such, Naruto felt it was a perfect background upon which to build Menma's backstory.

Sage would admit to having been confused as to why Naruto wanted to create a criminal identity, especially one that would essentially look like him. Naruto had explained that originally, he had thought it might serve as a means to expose the organization responsible for operating and maintaining the various bounty offices that served the criminal underground. Not to mention was rumored to help criminals like Orochimaru establish bases and provided other services for missing-nin. Truthfully though Naruto had been on the verge of abandoning the plan since Yoshino had often teased him for being all talk as a bad boy when she had been dancing at Club N and unaware of its true purpose. He had been forced to agree that he made a pretty shitty criminal and had doubted that he would be capable of doing the many underhanded things necessary to attract such a shadow group to him.

Yet, that had changed when Yugito had learned the truth about how the Raikage viewed her as a weapon first and a person second. Now Naruto intended for Menma to act as an agent to facilitate Yugito's escape from Kumo. But first he needed to establish the backstory as to why he would look like him. Sage had still been unsure why though since it would only likely further validate the Raikage's belief the Leaf was aiding Ame in helping the former host of the two-tails to escape. Naruto had explained that it would further increase the chances that the Raikage would remain in the Alliance in order to use the Chunin Exams as a venue for getting even. Sage by now knew she must have sounded like a broken record since she had simply kept asking, "Why," for further clarification to his answers since they didn't make sense to her.

She eventually did come to understand some of his other reasons for wanting Menma to appear like him, since if Yugito's defection was a success, then his persona could end up attracting the esteem needed that the Shadow Cabal might seek him out without his needing to spend years committing crimes. If that happened, then Naruto might find himself in a situation where he couldn't use a clone or henge since criminal groups often took precautions that would expose such infiltration methods. Even if he didn't get contacted by the Shadow Cabal, he would still likely be able to enter the criminal world. But, it could be under his terms, rather than as some grunt working his way up the ranks. By earning the reputation as the man that helped the Two-Tails escape Kumo and survived, the Menma persona would likely be quite attractive to other criminals looking to follow a strong personality. With followers, Naruto would be able to establish a territory that he could run under his terms, which he hoped would make him more of a boon to the village or town he established himself in rather than a parasite.

Yet, despite understanding what he hoped to achieve with the ruse. She still couldn't fathom the why of it, as she found that she agreed with Gaara that it wasn't worth the risks Naruto was taking to satisfy just one of his lover's happiness. Especially, considering the Harem's very mission was to create a shinobi world at peace. She felt for such a goal that it should be apparent that there would be people unhappy with the results achieved, but so long as the greater number of people were happy, Naruto and his lovers would be able to consider it a success. Therefore, she felt that Naruto risking a potential war, which is the very opposite of peace, for one person's happiness was a rather reckless and selfish decision. Furthermore, Gaara as a Kage should naturally be opposed to such a decision.

Sage could rationalize why Tsunade would be willing to back Naruto, but still felt she was wrong for doing so. A part of Sage questioned if Naruto wasn't perhaps too confident in his abilities since if a war broke out, it stood the potential of increasing the misery of not just the civilians and shinobi it would effect. But, his own Family as well since they would be on the frontlines and possibly on opposite sides of the conflict.

She had asked Naruko about it, since she figured her sister would have special insights into the matter. Her sister had informed her that she was quite sure that Naruto more than anyone was aware of the potential misery his decision to support Yugito could bring about. Yet, by the same token, he was bound to the promise that he had made his lovers back when it had only been Tsunade, Ino, Hinata, and Tayuya and had influenced his actions ever since. He had apparently promised to, always do right by them. Which had ultimately always been a key factor in the difficult decisions he had made along the way.

Sage had still found the reasoning somewhat dubious since by that token she imagined that Naruto would have been able to rationalize cold-bloodedly killing Komachi. Since she imagined not all of his lovers would have been pleased with potentially being exposed. When she had pressed her sister using such reasoning Naruko had simply replied, "I think you'll understand someday. But, in the case of Komachi, Naruto had honored his promise by keeping us from becoming the same type of group as Root. Sometimes doing right by someone means doing something that they might not necessarily be happy with at the time, but in the long run reveals itself to be the correct decision. If he had stood by and let them kill Komachi then we would probably rationalize any choice, no matter how vile they became. We would begin taking shortcuts to peace, rather than working hard for it."

Sage supposed she could see Naruko's point, after all Komachi had proved to be a vital part of why Root had been destroyed. If Naruto had allowed her death, then while they might have defeated Danzou chances were they would not have realized the threat Homura represented. Yet, what she was still having trouble with was that there was no way for Naruto and by extension his lovers to know that his decision would lead to such results. Just as he had no way of knowing how his choice to support Yugito was going to turn out. Yoshino could likely predict how people might react to certain stimuli, but Sage doubted the woman could predict exactly what would be the result of those actions. With that being the case, she couldn't fathom why all of Naruto's lovers would risk their own happiness for Yugito.

Although still lacking an answer, she reached her position inside a small sake house so let the matter drop. She watched as a henged Naruto made his way to the exit and stopped to shield his eyes from the sun for a moment. The peaceful mood was shattered as she heard Naruto's voice call out, "Toshiko Odaka, you are coming with me."

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The Henged Naruto looked over to see himself standing in the middle of the street. He turned to run in the opposite direction like he imagined a criminal would only to see Sakura blocking the opposite end of the street. He cursed, before replying, "I think you have the wrong guy."

Sakura nearly giggled, but the Henged Naruko as him said, "You generally say something like that before you try running you moron."

"Tried running," Naruto replied before darting into the Sake house he had vacated while adding in an amused tone, "You mean like this."

"Get back here," Naruko shouted before giving chase while Sakura also closed in. They reached the entrance at the same time so Naruko instructed her, "Stay here and make sure he doesn't double back or slips away."

Sakura nodded so she followed her fellow disguised blond into the drinking establishment. She cleared the entrance as Naruto was just reaching the back. The owner of the place, a diminutive woman shouted, "I don't know what your business is here. But I do not need another Leaf-nin tearing up my place."

Naruko ignored the woman as she produced a ball that looked like multiple exploding tags wrapped together. She threw it just as Naruto was reaching the exit from the customer area into the kitchen. The ball dropped over his shoulder to land in front of him causing Naruto to turn towards his lover disguised as him to run in the opposite direction while he asked, "Are you out of your mind?"

Naruko leapt forward leading with her knee which he blocked by crossing his hands in front of his face as she replied in his voice, "Nope, just needed you to stop running." The tags began to smoke which grew thicker and thicker as they revealed themselves to be nothing but smoke tags. Of course most of the patrons didn't know this so quickly began exiting the building even as it filled with smoke, although there were quite a few who watched wanting to see two shinobi go at it.

Naruto pushed her knee back causing her to land in front of him so he went on the attack. He tried to punch her with a quick jab, but Naruko easily avoided and grabbed him by the wrist. He groaned as she twisted the arm to wrench it causing him to expose his left side, and then she began delivering several kicks to it. She then spun and tossed him so that he slammed his back into the bar. The small woman that owned the place ran towards them shouting at them to stop, but the two of them ignored her.

Naruto dodged to the side just as Naruko tried to follow up with a kick which caused her foot to hit the front of the bar instead. Naruto grabbed the half full bottle of top shelf liquor that he had ordered while waiting to begin. He had weakened it using a knife that he had displayed prominently so people kept their distance. Although most of the patrons had probably just thought him another tough guy trying to be intimidating, he had actually done so to have a make shift weapon. But also to settle a long-standing grudge Tsunade had with the owner.

Using the bottle, he slammed it sideways against the headband Naruko was wearing making sure to hit the metal plate. As expected it had shattered neatly along the lines he had carved into it and thus minimizing the sharp shards that would normally result. Naruko though reacted as one would expect of a person that had been hit in the head with a heavy bottle, and she stumbled back to crash through a table of a nearby booth where some patrons had remained to watch the brawl.

Naruto found the scene a little surreal as he closed with her, since in essence it was like he was beating himself. Having made sure to order a high proof drink earlier, he pulled a book of matches as he approached his seemingly stunned doppelganger and said, "Look, I'm not normally a violent man, but I'm not going back to that hellhole of a prison. So, I'm going to need to create a reason for your teammate to want to stick around." Striking the match, he added, "No hard feelings. I'm sure she'll take good care of you." He tossed it at the henged Naruko as the customers scrambled out of the booth to avoid being burned. However, instead of a fire the match upon making contact with the orange jacket she was wearing simply went out.

Naruto wasn't surprised by that, since he knew the woman that owned the place watered down her drinks. Particularly the good stuff since most of her customers didn't usually get to partake. Due to Club N serving only the best liquors available due to several of his lovers' enjoyment of ingesting spirits, he had easily been able to taste the difference. It was also the reason why they were currently establishing Menma's backstory in the place, since a long time past Tsunade had stumbled in there after a particularly rough patch. She had awoken the next day to find the owner claiming she had cleaned out her inventory. Tsunade had remembered everything and had even ordered a few of the higher quality brands the woman had claimed she bought. But she had called the owner out on it tasting off so had stuck to the cheaper brands. When the woman later claimed she had switched back, Tsunade had argued and grabbed one of the bottles which she smashed on the bar. She then tried to set in on fire with a weak fire jutsu to no avail. She was in the midst of stating that she wouldn't pay for watered-down piss, when the local magistrate had shown up. She had tried to claim the woman was a scam artist and was defrauding her customers, but the man likely already knew since he turned every argument to show she was in the wrong. He had then arrested her, and although Tsunade could have easily escaped she didn't since word probably would have reached Konoha. She had only been released after Shizune had covered all the fees, including the bottle she had broken to make her point. She had quickly left the village after being released, but had never forgotten the slight.

Rounding on the woman that owned the place he grabbed her by the front of the shirt lifting her off of her feet and channeled the anger he was sure Tsunade must have felt as he shouted, "I knew that swill you served me was watered down. If it wasn't, I'd be warming myself off of the campfire that I just made."

Despite her situation the woman said, "I... I don't know what you..."

Naruto pulled his knife saying, "Don't lie to me. I paid good money for that shit, and I expect to receive what I paid for."

The woman eyed the knife and the fear she was radiating nearly caused him to relent. But she decided it wasn't worth testing him as she admitted, "It's true. These yokels can't tell the difference it would be a..."

Naruto dropped her so that she fell on her butt stating, "Keep your pathetic reasons to yourself. I only care that I get my money's worth so you better have an untampered with bottle as I'll be back to collect it. Now as for you..."

Naruto turned back to face Naruko only for him to receive a Rasengan to the face. At least that was what everyone watching was meant to think, But, with the smoke from the tags, not to mention the confusion of the situation, he doubted that the patrons would realize instead of a spinning ball of chakra what Naruko was actually hitting him with was a ball of water she had created due to her nature affinity. What was essentially a fast spinning water balloon held together by chakra smashed into his face, and Sage used the Almighty Push to send him flying backwards. Her jutsu also destroyed the bar portion of the building and the wall that he sailed through, although again he was sure that those who witnessed it would believe it was a result of the Rasengan.

Naruto continued to fly until he passed over the edge of the plateau where Sage cut her jutsu. He began to descend to the river below and waited until just hitting the water before teleporting himself away. He appeared in a room located within the Den which due to the results from the last time he had used the Hiraishin to nullify a fall from a great height he had filled it with mattresses. He cursed as he found the room wasn't unoccupied so had to adjust his fall. He landed on the mattress that Nel was jumping on just as she was coming down, so she rocketed up into the air. She then came down right on his stomach causing the wind to get knocked out of him.

Nel having the resiliency of most children barely seemed phased as she asked, "Did Nel summon you? Nel was just hoping you would come play with her?"

Naruto smiled at her before answering, "Then it looks like your wish was granted. I have some time before I have to leave. So what do you want to play first?"

"Nel wants to play the same games you play with her sisters," the child-like Bijuu said innocently. "Although they sound like they might be getting hurt, they always seem really happy after you leave."

Naruto frowned since although the Bijuu was many times older than him. Her current form and mentality really made him uncomfortable, especially when she asked to be treated the same as her sisters already bound to him. She looked at him expectantly and aware his refusal needed to be phrased in a way she wouldn't get angry said, "To be honest I don't think you are ready for those kind of games yet." As he expected her cheeks began to puff up so he quickly added, "And neither am I."

"Nel doesn't understand," she said tilting her head in a similar manner that he did when confused. "Is it because you don't like Nel?"

"No," Naruto said soothingly, "But, as you are now... I don't think you would enjoy it. The games I play with your sisters require a person be both physically and mentally prepared." Nel began to pout and look away so he crooked his finger under her chin so she would make eye contact with him. Then staring meaningfully into her eyes said, "That doesn't mean that I care any less for you though. You are very important to me."

Nel seemed confused for a moment, but then her cheeks began to color and she seemed to grow a little self-conscious. Scrambling off his stomach to kneel while facing away from him, she stared straight ahead but would shyly look back at him over her shoulder. Naruto watched her wondering what she was thinking, and if he had perhaps poured on the charm a little thick. But after a moment she said, "Nel thinks she understands. M...maybe Nel isn't ready. Can we play eternal tag instead?"

Naruto smiled but replied, "Well I don't know about eternal tag. But I can play for at least a few hours and... you're it." He quickly tagged her before leaping to his feet to escape the room. Nel laughed happily as she gave chase although she still wondered why she had felt so funny from Naruto just staring into her eyes. The feeling did confuse her, so for now she would just play. But, eventually she would explore it further since she wanted to wear the same content expressions that her sisters often sported.

*****************************

Naruto entered a night club almost a half day's travel from the village where he, Naruko, Sage, and Sakura had put on their little show to establish the Menma identity. That made their current location probably about two to three days away from Rivertown based on non-Shinobi methods of travel. Although Naruto had technically just teleported there after spending the time with Nel. He spotted Sakura and Sage sitting towards the back. He noticed Naruko wasn't among them and hoped she wasn't off sulking since Tsunade's reason for trashing the Sake Bar that they had, also extended to a measure of payback against Naruko.

Sakura spotted him and smiled before waving towards him. Sage by contrast simply stared at him before turning forward again. He would admit that he found Sage a little confusing to be around since she rarely showed emotion. Even now, he wasn't sure if she was happy to see him or not, although he also had never felt his presence bothered her either. Taking a seat next to Sakura whose hand he squeezed discretely under the table, he asked, "Were there any issues that cropped up after I left?"

Sakura was about to respond, but Naruko appeared from behind him, having been getting a refill on her drink, replied, "Only if you count that woman trying to rip me off." She took a seat across from him and then took a deep swig of the beer that she had bought before adding, "Despite basically admitting she watered her stock down, she tried to get me to pay full price for everything that Sage destroyed when she sent you flying."

Naruto inclined his head before replying, "Well Tsunade did say she was little more than a thief with a liquor license. Besides, I'm sure you called attention to it."

"Damn right I did," Naruko said annoyed, "Especially since the Hokage is making me pay for everything so she could have her revenge. For someone who is supposed to be all about letting things go now, she sure knows how to hold onto a grudge."

Naruto chuckled earning him a scowl from Naruko. He defended his Hokage lover by countering, "Letting things go isn't what building a peaceful world requires. It is also about seeking justice for wrongs committed. Peace cannot be built in a world where people feel as if they had been denied justice."

Naruko calmed somewhat since she could see where her lover was coming from. But asked, "Still, if she wanted justice why make me pay for the repairs to the bar?"

"For Tsunade getting justice was about being validated for being arrested when she had accused the woman of the same thing. Now not only do the people know the owner looks down on them, but has been ripping them off for years. Chances are good that when she reopens, she isn't going to be in business for long." Naruto smirked at Naruko before adding, "As to why you are paying for repairs. Well, let's just say that Tsunade was less than thrilled from your writing about her first time with me in your book. As such, she feels somewhat entitled to some of the profits you are bringing in."

Naruko grimaced since she had used Jiraiya's notes as the basis for her book. He had based the Main Character on Naruto, and one of the characters had been modeled after Tsunade. The Tsunade character had featured in the first book that Naruko had published in order to earn the funds required to keep the information network she had inherited from Jiraiya going.

Naruko sighed annoyed before countering, "There aren't really any profits to be had though. Jiraiya had a hefty bank account only due to years of success with the Make-Out series. But, the spy network he established drained it in months once I got it up and running. Plus, since the current books have been out for so long revenue wasn't keeping up. I needed to come up with something, especially since money is tight for mom as well."

Naruto smiled softly at Naruko's calling Kiyomi her mom, although he also felt some concern about the issue the blonde woman had raised. Which while at present there was no danger of Kiyomi going poor. The Great Tree Shipping Company was currently in a difficult position finically. So despite it having grown and prospered under Karin's leadership, it currently didn't have the funds on hand to support side projects that wouldn't generate profits such as Naruko's information network. Of course this was a natural occurrence in business, especially as competitors tried to undermine the revitalized company. In fact, it was turning out that the port they had purchased in Wave was not going to be the profit juggernaut that Karin had hoped it would be. This was due to prices for goods going into the country suddenly dropping dramatically even before they could begin competing. Granted, the plan had always been to sell the items they shipped to the Land of Water at a lower price. But, since their competition had kept prices so high previously, they had expected to sell greater volumes. The other companies that already had established trading avenues into the Land of Water obviously did not want the offshoot company being established and was going to be called the Uzumaki Nautical Company to start taking market share. Therefore, they were working together to suppress prices to prevent the U.N.C. from competing.

Due to this, after investing loads of capital into repairing the port in Wave, it meant the chances of a quick return on the investment were very slim. Not to mention they were facing stiffer competition from the Great Tree Shipping Company's land based rivals as well. Plus, the investments Kiyomi had made in the properties that she had bought within the various villages were used to sustain things like the Den and the homes his lovers lived in.

All in all, Naruto could understand why Naruko had felt pressured to write a book to support her information network. But replied, "I guess what bothers Tsunade is you used your insight from when you were..."

"A chakra spirit hoping to drive you mad," Naruko supplied helpfully and with a smile showing her origins didn't bother her any further.

Naruto inclined his head with a smirk before more seriously replying, "Sure let's go with that description if you want. But you did kind of give the exact blow by blow of what happened in her office since you cast her as a part of the council of the city you set the book in. I don't think she minded being the inspiration so much as you not relying more on your imagination."

Naruko sighed guessing she could see why Tsunade was upset with her. "I guess I'll apologize to her. If anything, this little adventure shows me that I don't want to be on her bad side."

Naruto chuckled but stopped when Sage asked, "Then why are you willing to risk the Raikage's ire?"

Naruko sighed before replying, "Let's not go over this again."

"Why? Your hesitance to risk the Hokage's ire is quite contrary to your willingness to incur the Raikage's. Particularly when the potential outcomes would be far more devastating to you on a personal level. Especially should Naruto be eliminated as seems to be the prevailing theory about how the Raikage would respond."

Naruto sounded somewhat amused as he replied, "Well I think we can all agree my dying would be a great tragedy."

Sage looked from her sister to him with emotionless eyes as she asked, "I do not understand why you would regard your potential demise as a flippant matter."

"Nor do I." Sakura said sternly beside him.

Naruto turned to his pink haired lover to put her at ease by saying, "Don't worry Sakura. You're going to have to put up with me for a very long time."

She smiled happily at him before replying, "Something I plan to do gladly," and then gave his hand a squeeze.

"You cannot know that," Sage said interjecting to bring reality crashing down on the moment. Tilting her head, she added, "Unless you are reversing course about your belief that destiny doesn't exist."

Naruto shook his head before replying, "I told Neji once that those who hide behind destiny are cowards. It would make me rather twofaced to now claim that I'm some child of destiny as some like to believe."

Without missing a beat Sage countered, "I already believe you to be rather hypocritical already. I would not be surprised to learn you are more so." Naruko shook her head in disbelief at her sister's bluntness, while Sakura looked like she wanted to slug the orange-haired woman on their lovers' behalf. But Naruto disarmed the moment as he began laughing. Sage let a crack of emotion show as she stared at him in confusion not sure why he was reacting in such a manner. "I did not mean what I said as a jest."

"I know," Naruto said after a calming somewhat. "It's just people used to say I was blunt." He favored Sage with a smile before asking, "I'm guessing you are referring to how we plan to potentially destroy the Alliance to make sure Yugito is happy."

"Correct," Sage answered with a curt nod. "Your stated desire to foment peace directly contradicts with your willingness to risk war breaking out for one person's happiness. It is especially foolish considering the end result might create more misery among all your lovers."

"You're right of course," Naruto replied simply.

"Then you admit your actions are hypocritical?" Sage said somewhat surprised although it never reached her face or voice.

"No, or I should say. I admit that from your perspective it could appear that way. But that is simply because you might be operating from a few misconceptions."

Sage lips threatened to break into a frown as she asked, "Are you now claiming peace is not your goal?"

"No, but what is peace?" Naruto asked not exactly expecting an answer.

Sage though had one handy as she replied sounding as if she was reciting from a dictionary verbatim, "The normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world. This is your goal correct."

Naruto knew he had his work cut out for him in making the woman understand his point of view. But, he did appreciate the opportunity since unlike with Gaara. Sage almost seemed devoid of emotional investment in the manner. Therefore, it was easier to remain calm since although she sounded like she would side with Gaara. It did seem to breakdown more on a logical number based measurement rather than how the Kazekage used it to dismiss Yugito's feelings as unimportant.

Hoping he could make his case in a similar logical manner without her blowing holes through it he replied, "That is what we are working for. So it is a goal in that sense. But, I never gave my word that we would achieve it."

"Why would that matter? By making it your goal you already imply that it is something you are working to achieve."

"True," Naruto said after a moment, "But why am I trying to achieve it?"

"I do not understand?"

"And that is part of why you can't just rely on numbers or logic in these situations," Naruto replied quickly seeing an avenue. "You focus exclusively on the goal but you never stopped to ask, why is he interested in achieving it. If you had, you would find that all of this started from a desire to make the Pervy Sage happy."

"Would he..."

Naruto stopped Sage from asking her question by saying, "Let me finish my point. You were wondering if Pervy Sage would be happy with what I'm risking to make Yugito happy. The answer is, I don't know. But, that is beside the point as he turned the matter over to me as his apprentice which means if we are going to achieve it, then it will be on my terms. Which leads me into why I refuse to let Yugito be miserable for the sake of peace. I promised her and all my lovers that I would always do right by them. I can't tell the women that I'm asking to help me fulfil my master's dream. Thanks for the help, but your happiness is an inconvenience to the goal so deal with it. The stakes are much higher now than say when I promised Hinata her happiness came before making inroads into the Hyuuga. Or, taking on Koharu to keep Tsunade by my side. But, my actions have to be the same even with the higher stakes or else I feel I would truly become a hypocrite."

"Then why bother with trying to establish peace at all?" Sage asked better understanding why Naruto had made the decision he had. But she now had trouble understanding why he would even bother trying to establish a peaceful world, especially since the promise he made to keep his lovers happy might directly oppose the goal his family worked towards.

Naruto shrugged before answering, "Because it is a noble undertaking, and I told the Pervy Sage that I would try. But, at the end of the day I have to make sure those closest to me also benefit from it. The entire world could be at peace, but I wouldn't be able to call it a success if one of my lovers was made to suffer for it. I suppose it is because I feel they deserve first crack at any potential happiness there is to be had, and the world will benefit as a result."

"But your current course of action could only leave everyone with unhappiness?"

Naruto nodded, and Sage could see he was well aware of the worst case scenarios that could be the end result. After a moment, he seemed to banish those concerns in order to reply, "That is very true. But, if people aren't willing to take risks then they can and should only be happy with what they have. There can be no reward without first risking something. Tsunade and I risked walking into the belly of the beast to first establish the idea of forming a peace between Kumo and Konoha. If we hadn't, then we wouldn't even be as far as we are now. But, what we have currently built is imperfect, so it would be foolish to continue to build upon an imperfect system." He paused as he saw a stacking game off to the side that various club-goers could play with their friends in-between snacking and dancing. The game was made up of identical blocks with three of them being stacked adjacent to one another. Then another level of three was stacked on top but perpendicular to the previous one.

He slid the tower of wooden blocks in front of him before stating, "Let us say this tower represents the peace we are hoping to build." He removed two blocks from the base of the tower, and although normally he would put them on top he just left them off to the side. Pointing to the block everything was now balanced on he explained, "That bottom block is the current issue with how the Raikage views Yugito. Sure, the rest of the tower appears stable at the moment. But it wouldn't take much to topple it over." He jostled the table with his knee causing the tower to collapse to the side.

Sage thought over what Naruto had explained before stating, "The reason the tower fell over was because it was structurally compromised from the beginning. You believe the current Alliance is as well so rather than build your tower on such a weak foundation would prefer to start over. But, that only is assuming you can start over. Would you be so inclined if one of your lovers was hurt or killed as a result of your actions? Would the Kazekage?"

"I don't know," Naruto admitted. "I know I'm playing with a lot of people's lives here. Not just my lovers stand to be hurt by what happens next. It might be impossible to just pick up the pieces. But, I know what we have now is structurally unsound, and Gaara isn't going to be any more willing to do what needs to be done to fix it in the future then he is now, especially if he just plans to hide behind the notion that his people are happy in the moment. By the time the collapse comes in a way that everyone can see it, then it is already too late. I don't know if everything will turn out alright. But, I do know that as things stand now, one of my lovers would be unhappy so something has to be done."

Sage could see that both Sakura and Naruko were pleased by their lovers' statement. She imagined it was easy for the women to get behind the reasoning since they would want him to act in a similar manner if their happiness was on the line. Looking over his past actions as conveyed to her, she supposed she could see that while advancing his goal of a peaceful Shinobi World those closest to him had always been the first to benefit. As such she was forced to admit, "I withdraw my statement that you are acting in a hypocritical fashion. But, do feel you are perhaps acting in a foolish manner considering the dangers your actions will bring down upon you."

Naruto inclined his head but flashed her a smile as he replied, "Well, I never said it wasn't foolish. But, love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. Because of that, I would be a fool to deny Yugito's happiness as it is a key to my own."

Sage found that she couldn't really fault Naruto's belief in what motivated his actions, especially in the face of the looks of admiration that he was receiving from his two lovers. Finding anything she might say would come off as hollow she simply directed her attention away after inclining her head to his point. Sakura then pulled him up to go dance with him, and watching the pink-haired woman wondered if she would ever feel things in the same way Naruto's lovers did.

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