Chapter 12 : Training and Romance

Naruto clapped his hands together, as he looked at the three genins who were with him at training ground seven. He had spoken with Tsunade and their sensei Ebisu and had managed to get their permission to train these three for the Chunin Exams finals. Standing in front of him were Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, it was his plan to train these three during the one-month hiatus. While he had seen that these three were decent for genin, Naruto knew they would need to be better. Especially when they ended up fighting the Kiri genin, who from what he had seen, were much better than any of the other genins in the Exams.

"Alright!" Naruto said as he looked between the three genins, "I'm sure you all know why you are here. I plan on training you for this month before the Chunin Exams; I'll be training you guys in all facets of the ninja way." Naruto paused for a second as the three genins looked absolutely ecstatic, "however before we get started on your training, I want to see how well you three perform. While I've seen how the three of you fight during the preliminaries, I've always been of the belief that you never truly know what others are capable of, unless you battle them yourselves."

Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out two bells, attaching them to his pants as he turned to the three genins. "Your jobs will be to get these two bells from me using everything trick you can think of. Don't worry," Naruto said as he saw Moegi open her mouth to speak, "you don't have to worry about actually getting a bell. I will be training all of you regardless of whether any of you get a bell; I merely wish to see what you're capable of. Also," a smirk quirked at the corner of Naruto's lips as he stared at the three, "you three will need to come at me with the intent to kill if you want any hopes of even laying a scratch on me."

The three genin's eyes widened, causing Naruto's smirk to increase. For a moment everyone in the clearing was silent until Naruto decided to get the fun started. "Well what are waiting for, the test starts now!"

With that the three genins took off, moving to hide into the trees.

Naruto chuckled as his enhanced senses were able to find their locations easily enough, while they were decent for genin and may give Chunin a good while to detect, they were no match for someone who made a hobby of hiding from the Anbu in his youth. The blond shinobi reached into his pouch activating one of the many containment seals in it, there was a poof of smoke as Naruto pulled out an apple. Taking an exaggerated bite out of the juicy fruit, Naruto concentrated on the chakra signatures of the three genins who were hiding just a little to his left in the tree line.

Several minutes later Konohamaru burst out of the trees, tossing kunai and shuriken at Naruto in an effort to distract him. Naruto used the hand that was not eating an apple to catch all of the projectiles, before putting them in his pouch. As he turned his attention to the spiky-haired genin, Naruto felt foreign chakra invading his coils and smirked. He discreetly released the genjutsu Moegi tried to cast on him, making Konohamaru shimmer before his position changed. The young Sarutobi heir was unaware of this as he continued his charge, jumping into the air and launching a kick at Naruto. Said blond merely disappeared the moment Konohamaru's kick would have connected, making the genin stumble to the ground and look around before freezing as a voice spoke up behind him.

"You know you should never let your enemies get behind you," Naruto spoke up with his hands held in the tiger sign. "Konohagakure Hidan Taijutsu Ogi: Sennen Goroshi! (Hidden Leaf Village Secret Technique: 1000 Years of Pain)"

Before Konohamaru could even turn his head Naruto sent his chakra-induced fingers up, giving the young genin what amounted to a glorified ass poke.

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

Konohamaru flew nearly forty feet into the air, holding his hands to his ass before splashing into the river. Naruto chuckled as he stood back up; he had always wanted to do that after his genin test. Looking in the water where Konohamaru splashed down Naruto smirked, now all he had to do was wait and see what the three would do next.

Naruto grinned as he looked at the three genins, all of whom were tied to one of the posts for not getting a bell. He knew it did not really matter if they got one or not, but it was still fun to have someone besides himself getting tied to them. They had actually been pretty decent for genin, while they had not been able to even touch him, Naruto knew that many of their strategies could have taken out a Chunin and given a few of the villages jonin a run for their money.

"Well despite not getting a bell I have to admit you three did pretty good," Naruto complimented them, getting a smile from the tied-up genin. "Now that I have a clear understanding of your skills and a basis to work with we'll begin training," three Kage Bushin's appeared behind the genin and cut them from their bindings. "Now then this is going to be our schedule for this month, in the morning were going to do physical exercises and sparring, afternoons will be for chakra control, tactics, jutsu, and anything else I feel you may need." Naruto looked up at the sun, "since we still have a little bit of time before lunch we're going to do some physical exercise." Naruto turned to the three genins and gave them a grin that sent shivers down their spines, "Alright you three! I want you three to start off with twenty laps around the training field, then do fifty pushups, fifty sit-ups, fifty pull-ups, fifty squats, one hundred log punches with each arm, and one hundred log kicks with each leg!"

The Konohamaru corps looked at him with wide eyes, while their minds tried to comprehend what Naruto was telling them to do. Naruto saw this and got a tic mark on his head, "Didn't you hear me! Get MOVING!"

That seemed to shock the genin into action as they jumped up and got started, beginning with the laps around the training ground. Naruto grinned as he watched the three work, he had not told them but this was about half of what he had done when he started training seriously under Ero-sensei. He had thought about making them do the full routine, but in the end, decided against it. After all, they did not have a demonic fox sealed in their gut, so they could not heal muscles tears as he could. It took about four hours for the three to finish, when they did Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were all lying on the ground, looking like they might die of exhaustion.

"Not bad you guys," Naruto complimented the genin, who were too tired to even cast him a glare, though not for lack of trying. Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll, unrolling it on the floor and unsealing its content with a puff of smoke. When the smoke dispersed it revealed what could only be considered a picnic buffet, on top of a blanket were a cacophony of different kinds of foods. "Before we get started on the next part of training, I want you guys to eat up and get your energy back," Naruto said, blinking as the previously exhausted genin, suddenly appeared right next to him and began eating.

Naruto let them get their food before getting some for himself; he ignored the genin who were stuffing their face as he ate. Letting his mind wander over to the three's performance, both during the preliminaries and the spar. He looked back and waited for them to finish stuffing themselves before speaking about their training, "glad to see you three are full." Naruto reached into his pouch again and this time pulled out three slips of paper, handing one to each of the now confused genins. "I want you three to channel some chakra into that paper," Naruto explained as he saw their confused expressions. "This will tell you what your elemental affinity is if it's fire it burns, wind it will cut, water it will soak, earth it will turn to dust and lightning will crinkle. By knowing what your affinity is, we will be able to find out which elemental jutsu you are most suited for."

Eager to see what their affinity was for, the three genins channeled chakra into their paper. Moegi's became soaking wet, showing she had a fairly strong affinity for water. Udon's surprisingly became crinkled, showing he had a lightning affinity. However the most surprising to Naruto was Konohamaru's, which had one side get lit on fire and the other turned to dust.

"It looks like each of you have different elements," Naruto said with a nod to himself as he thought up how best to train them. Resealing the picnic basket and blanket, Naruto stood up and made two Kage Bushin's. One of them went over to Moegi and the other went over to Udon, "I want each of you to follow one of us and we'll teach you how to use your affinity."

As Udon and Moegi followed their clone, Naruto turned to look at Konohamaru. "Before we get started on your elemental training, I want to know how you're doing with that jutsu I gave you before I left."

"Ugh… not good Oyabun (Boss)," Konohamaru admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, and gained a sheepish expression. "It's just so… hard! I have no clue how to do it; I haven't even gotten past the first step!"

Naruto nodded, "I expected that much, it's a pretty hard jutsu. Thankfully now that I'm back in Konoha I can help you get it down, we're also going to work on that as well as your element." Naruto paused for a moment as he chose what they would focus on first, making his decision Naruto gestured for Konohamaru to follow him. The blond walked up to one of the many trees and using a bit of wind manipulation cut off several leaves and made them float into his hand. Turning to Konohamaru he handed him the leaves, said genin merely blinked before looking up at him with a 'what the hell' expression. Naruto chuckled as he began to explain, "The key to the exercise we are going to be doing is using your chakra to light these leaves on fire. Now then fire is a very wild element and to use it you must…"

Clone Naruto and Moegi stopped walking as they came to a small river; turning to the orange-haired girl Naruto began to explain what they would be doing. "The first thing you have to understand about water is that water always has a flow, or a rhythm, even when supposedly still. Water is also one of the most versatile elements you can use, and while it does not have the raging power of say fire it is still very strong in its own right. Now, most water techniques are defensive or supplemental in nature, such as the Suejinheki, or the Baku Suishoha. Because of this the more offensive jutsu normally require a longer string of hand signs, since water was not naturally designed to hurt others." Naruto paused to look at Moegi, seeing the girl hang off every word he had said so far, Naruto plunged on.

"However by training in the use of your element, it is possible to cut back not only the number of hand seals a jutsu uses, but also the amount of chakra required for a jutsu. This comes from understanding the basics of how your element works, in this case how water 'flows' so to speak. Now to do this I want you to use your chakra and create a whirlpool effect in the river…"

As soon as Naruto and Udon got out of sight from the other two genins, Naruto turned around to the runny-nosed preteen and began speaking. "Before we begin I want you to know that the lightning element is not only one of the most destructive, but also one of the most dangerous. While fire if used incorrectly can get you burned, and wind can get you cut. Lightning if not channeled properly can quite literally fry your nervous system and organs," Udon paled slightly at the knowledge, but still looked determined to learn. Naruto nodded his approval before continuing, "That being said lightning is also in my opinion at least the second strongest offensive element."

"What's the first strongest sensei?" asked Udon.

"Wind," Naruto answered quickly, "wind because of its almost pure offensive nature and versatility in combat makes it the most powerful offensive nature manipulation type. This is because wind can be used to slice through all kinds of matter, without regard to how strong or durable something is, or be used for blunt force trauma. And while fire can beat wind due to their opposing natures, a skilled wind user can beat just about any other ninjutsu specialist out there." Naruto shook his head, "any way we're getting off-topic… Now the thing about lightning is it is not just an offensive or even defensive element, like fire and wind. There are many Raiton jutsu's that are supplemental in nature, the best example I can give you is the Raiton No Yoroi (Lightning armor) that is used by the Yondaime Raikage. Which increases not only ones physical strength but also increases speed and reflexes by speeding up the neural synapses, increasing their overall physical performance by a factor of 4." Naruto smirked as Udon had a look of awe on his face, "there are many jutsu that can do things similar to this. However, all of these are more advanced than the other jutsu and require an innate understanding, if not total mastery over lightning."

Naruto used wind manipulation to cut some leaves off of the branches and handed them over to Udon, taking one of them the blond twirled it in his finger. "To start learning how to utilize this chakra I want you to make these leaves crumple, much like you did when you channeled chakra into the paper." Giving an example Naruto channeled some lightning chakra into the leaf in his hand, making the entire thing crumple, making it look similar to a candy wrapper. "To do this you will have to learn to channel enough lightning chakra to make static electricity, to do this it's best to think about what happens when you rub a balloon on your head…"

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For the first week, this was how Naruto would train the three genins. Every morning they would get up and do their physical workout, which Naruto had made harder by adding weights to them. Afterward, he would have them spar against each other and himself, making sure to point out their flaws and correct them. Naruto also gave Moegi and Udon a different fighting style, or to be more accurate helped them make their own style since all they used was the academy style or as Naruto called it, the cookie-cutter taijutsu style. Moegi's was a variation of what Naruto knew on the style Shizune used, which was a medical ninja-style that relied on the usage of the Chakra Meisu (Chakra Scalpel), to cut tendons and muscles. Naruto had given Moegi the scroll for that jutsu, but rather than cut tendons and muscles, he made her go after tendons, muscles, and the eight vital spots in the human body. With Udon he had him mix the standard academy taijutsu with jujitsu, which relied on grappling and using an opponent's weight against them. Naruto also taught Udon how to use chakra strings, allowing him to apply the basic chakra control exercise to the taijutsu style, this way he could trip or tie up his opponents temporarily to give him an edge. Neither style was complete and would not likely be for years to come, but he was sure they could make it good enough within the next month to properly use them. Thankfully Konohamaru used the Sarutobi or Saru (monkey) style taijutsu, so all Naruto had to do with him was spar and help point out his flaws.

After lunch, they would then work on individual exercises. For the first two hours, Naruto would have them work on their element, doing the exercises he had instructed. None of them had gotten even close to mastering them, though Konohamaru could produce smoke and slight burns on the leaf. But that was to be expected since this was jonin level training, and only Konohamaru used elemental jutsu.

Afterwords he would then work on strategy, mainly by playing shogi and go with them. As well as chakra control, this was something Naruto had been pretty strict on. Technically they were capable of water walking, but Naruto believed that these exercises were not mastered unless you could fight while using them. To help with this Naruto would have them spar for at least one hour, either on a vertical surface or on the water, though the latter was much more tiring since it required them to constantly pump out chakra and increase or decrease the amount according to how the water reacted to their presence. This however led to a decent increase in their reserves, while it was nothing truly significant, they had managed to gain a 15% increase in their reserves.

Naruto looked at the three genins as they entered the clearing; walking up to him they gave a greeting of 'Ohoya sensei' before awaiting their instructions.

"I'm pleased to say that you three have made remarkable progress so far," Naruto said, causing pleasing smiles to spread across their faces. "Therefore I have decided to not only increase the weights but also double our morning workouts!"

All throughout Konoha wail's of despair could be heard for the rest of the day.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mei sighed in both frustration and relief, relief at having finally finished the paperwork, which sometimes never seemed to end. And frustration at the sheer amount of paperwork she had to finish, something that made her begin to regret taking the Kage position. It was even worse since her Naruto was not here to give her those absolutely Kami-like messages. Thinking of the blond-haired man who had come into her life brought a smile to her face; because of the Chunin exams, they had not been able to see each other for a while. However she had sent a team to participate, a team that she was sure would make it to the final rounds. Especially since they were trained by herself, Ao, and Chojuro in the shinobi arts. If they pass that means I'll be able to visit Konoha in order to watch the Chunin Exams, maybe I can even get there a bit early… her thoughts were derailed when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" she called out.

The door opened to reveal Ao who walked in and gave her a bow, "Mizukage-sama we have just received word, that all three of our genin who are participating in the Chunin exam passed the second test."

Mei felt a grin spread across her face, standing up she walked towards the door. "Thank you for informing me, I would like you to inform the council of this and tell them I will be going to see how our genin fare." she had just made it to the door when Ao mumbled behind her.

"I think you're really just going to visit Naruto-san, I swear back in my day when two people liked each other they would just get married and be done with it…"

Mei's hand halted on the doorknob as she turned with one of her chillingly pleasant smiles, the ones she used when about to inflict great pain on someone. "Ao… shut up… or I'll kill you!"

Ao's eyes widened at the threat and he realized he had said that out loud, he soon began trying to talk his way out of it, which as always only made the situation worse.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The second week was nearing its end, and Naruto had once again upped the training of the three genins. Increasing their weights, physical routine, and the difficulty of the chakra control exercises and had started to actually teach them jutsu for their elements. While they had not gotten close to even managing to do more than base manipulation of their element, he felt that they should have a few that could be used for the Chunin Exams. They were only in the C rank, but even a C rank jutsu in the right hands could have devastating effects.

Naruto smiled as he sat on his father's head, a place he had often come to when he wanted to be alone. Today was the day he had given his students to relax since he knew full well that without resting their muscles would never repair themselves and grow stronger. He looked back down at what was in his hand, his smile growing ever so slightly. He had been searching through the desk his parents had used when creating their seals, he had been looking for the seal that his father had come up with as a replacement for the Bird Caged Seal. While searching he had come across a small leather-bound book, at first he had thought it would be some kind of book with notes on sealing techniques. Opening it he had found out that it was not a book on sealing or anything even remotely shinobi related.

Instead what he had found was a journal, his father's journal to be precise. It seemed to date back from the time his father had first learned to write, which was obvious by the messy scrawl at the beginning of the journal. And went into the third great shinobi war that his old man had been a part of, telling of his experience as a sensei and his desire to create a jutsu to end the war. Unfortunately for Naruto, it seemed to stop after that, mainly because it was completely full. Also unfortunately there was not much about his mother in this journal, only a little where his father talked about her beauty and a few experiences he had with her; like when she had been kidnapped by Kumo ninja and left her hair as a trail that her father followed. The blond Clan Head assumed that his father had another journal somewhere, however despite searching had not found it. This also brought up something he had hoped to find.

Naturally, he assumed that since his father had a journal, then his mother would have one as well. Naruto had searched the entire jutsu library for any trace of something like that; however, his search had been in vain. He had not been able to find any trace of a journal or diary from his mother; he had not even managed to find the letter Jiraiya said she had left. This led to the assumption that it had most likely been in the actual house during the Kyuubi attack and had probably been destroyed.

Naruto was snapped out of his reverie when he felt a spike in chakra, signaling the use of a shunshin near his location. Naruto turned his head just as a male Anbu in a Neko mask appeared.

"Namikaze-san, Tsunade-Sama has requested your presence," he said in the typical monotone voice of an Anbu.

Naruto sighed as he stood up and stretched, "very well, I'll head there right now."

The Anbu nodded before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto followed suit, only using water instead as he went to find out what Tsunade wanted him for.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tsunade stared at the red-headed beauty with an incredulous expression, trying to comprehend just how this conversation took this peculiar turn. It had started out ordinarily enough; she and the woman who Tsunade knew was the Mizukage of Kiri had started off swapping the basic pleasantries that all foreign dignitaries do. Doing basic standard political maneuvering to find out what kind of person the other was, by talking about mundane everyday topics. Tsunade despite having been surprised by her early arrival had not allowed it to get to her as they spoke, and had in fact found the conversation mildly pleasant, especially since it allowed her a break from her paperwork. She was also pleased to know that there was another woman besides her who had become a Kage, it kind of made the busty blond feel like she was setting a trend. However, the conversation had taken an awkward, at least for Tsunade, turn.

"Tell me…" the blond Hokage spoke slowly as she gave the woman a mild glare, "Why are you requesting to spend the upcoming exams at the estate of one of my more prominent Clan Heads?" Tsunade had already paid for the Mizukage's stay in Konoha at one of the five-star hotels they had, along with extra places for her two guards. Of course, she had an idea that had formed in her head the moment the red-haired woman made this request but was holding off her judgment until she was proven right. However, if Tsunade was right then someone was going to have some serious hell to pay.

Mei just gave the woman a smile as she carefully hid the hand that held her ring; she knew Naruto had not informed anybody about their relationship yet. So while it was big news in Kiri, it would not reach the other elemental nations, due to her countries terrain that isolated it from the rest of the world. "I think it would be best if perhaps we had someone fetch Naruto, that way we could give you a proper explanation." She could of course just tell Tsunade herself, hell she did not even need to mention she was going to sleep at the blond's place and just gone over after being shown to her hotel. However due to Naruto's influence Mei had developed a small devious side, well the devious side had always been there, but it was normally reserved for her and Naruto's bedtime activities.

Tsunade just sighed before lifting up her hand, making one of the Anbu who was hiding in the room shimmer into existence. "You go find me Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze!"

The Anbu bowed before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

About ten minutes later Naruto himself appeared within a swirl of water, "Yo Baa-chan you wanted to see me?"

"Not now gaki," Tsunade said as she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to rid herself of the headache she had gained. "In case you haven't noticed we have guests."

Naruto would have responded but was stopped when a pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck and an impressive bust pressed into his back. "You know I'm disappointed that you did not even notice me in the room Naru-koi," Mei said as she whispered into Naruto's ear. "That's not only disappointing but I feel rather hurt too."

Before she could say anymore 'Naruto' puffed out of existence, causing the red-haired beauty to stumble forward. A pair of arms wrapped around her waist before she could get far, pulling her into an embrace and an impressive set of muscled abs and pectorals. "I apologize Mei-hime; I assure you it was not my intention to disappoint. I was only hoping to surprise you…"

Mei grinned and repressed a shiver of pleasure as she spoke, "you must be getting rusty, I was feeling rather hurt that you would ignore me."

"Well then why don't you allow me to Make it up to you," Naruto said before gently nibbling on her earlobe, causing the Mizukage to let out a soft moan.

Tsunade despite having figured that this was in fact one of the four-woman Naruto spoke of at his first council meeting, was for lack of a better word shocked. In fact, she was so shocked that she did not even stop the pair as they continued their rather blatant sexual banter. She had of course known that Naruto knew the Mizukage and that they were at least friends, the blond's abilities to make friends with people he barely knew was unmatched, and given the outstanding report Mei had given her on Naruto's performance in the Kiri Civil War, it was obvious they had to at least be close. However when Mei had appeared before her and rather bluntly asked her to point her to Naruto's estate, well she had an inkling as to what it was about. However, like most things, hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.

She quickly got her bearings however and coughed into her hand, "Naruto…" she said getting the pair's attention, though the blond had yet to actually take his arms off the redhead. "You have a lot of explaining to do; I suggest you start doing it!"

"Eh heh heh heh," Naruto gulped a bit knowing that look Tsunade was giving; he had seen it on her often enough when Jiraiya pissed the woman off to know what it meant. "Err… well I guess the first thing I should tell you is that she is one of the women I have fallen in love with and am already engaged to…"

Naruto stopped his explanation as he and everyone else turned towards the door, which had just slammed shut. Looking around Naruto blinked as he noticed that Chojuro was missing, most likely the one who had just left. "Looks like I crushed any hope he had of being with you huh?" Naruto asked.

Mei just sighed as she closed her eyes, she had of course knew of Chojuro's crush on her. Hell, all of Kiri knew of it, the poor boy could not get within two feet of her without turning red, and whenever he spoke with her his stuttering would get ten times worse. However she also knew that he knew of her relationship with Naruto, it would be impossible for him not to when he had walked in on the two of them making out on her desk. She would have thought that he had gotten over it by now, but she guessed that he had probably held out hope that what she and Naruto had was just a fling.

"Ao, could you please find Chojuro, and then the two of you can either explore or go to the hotel," Mei commanded in her soft yet firm voice.

Ao just bowed, "at once Mizukage-Sama," with a shake of his head the blue-haired man left to find his wayward partner.

"Now," Tsunade said, "why don't you two explain to me just why you thought it was a good idea to keep this from me…?"

Naruto shook off the slight fear at her subtle or not so subtle threat; well it's subtle for her since she did not threaten me with bodily harm. Shaking the thoughts off Naruto released Mei from his arms, walking over he took a seat in one of the chairs and gestured for Mei to sit in the other. However, the beautiful redhead seemed to have other ideas, as she walked over and plopped herself right on Naruto's lap.

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched violently but she repressed the urge to threaten the two, and instead sighed as she gestured for them to begin.

Naruto cleared his throat as he and Mei began their story, telling Tsunade how they met and found comfort in each other during the Kiri Civil War.

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Chojuro growled in frustration as he stomped around Konoha, unconsciously releasing his killing intent, making several civilians back away. He just could not understand it! How was it that that damn blond managed to worm his way into HIS Mizukage's heart when he and everyone else around her had not? Was it because of the blond's confidence? The commanding aura he had? That flirty attitude that was similar to Mei's own? Or something else entirely? Chojuro was not sure, but he did not feel that boy deserved someone as beautiful and amazing as Mei. He had known Mei for far longer than that boy! He should be the one that was with her!

He was so wrapped up in his anger and inner rant that he failed to notice the other person turning the corner until it was too late.

Isaribi cursed as she ran through the streets of Konoha, using the many side alleys and back roads to get to the Hokage tower. She had been requested to take a later shift at the Hokage tower and was now running late, having been held up at her second job. Isaribi had been working two jobs for the past two weeks now, having been hired to work at the Ichiraku's Ramen bar. Of course, she did not need the second job; the one had the Hokage tower gave her enough money to live off of. However, there were other reasons for her wanting to get the job, like being closer to a certain blond shinobi. She had found out early on during her time in Konoha that Naruto would often frequent the by now famous Ichiraku Ramen stand. And so hoping that she would be able to run into him at places other than the Hokage tower, she had gotten herself a job there.

However, while she got to see a lot more of Naruto, the young woman was unsure if he saw her, at least in the way she wanted him to. The young Clan Head was not rude of course, quite the contrary if she was not busy taking orders Naruto would talk with her, oftentimes staying even after he finished eating to continue a conversation. And yet he did not seem to notice the subtle hints and advances she gave him, or perhaps he chose not to notice. She was beginning to think it was the latter since Naruto treated her the same way he did Ayame, like a sister.

The thought made her sigh; perhaps it would be better if she found someone else? She had gotten a few advances, but had not really thought about going out with anyone other than Naruto. Perhaps she should talk to him, at least ask him what he thought of her before going for one of the men who asked her on a date. While it would hurt if he did not have any romantic feelings, it's not like it would be the end of the world.

She was so focused on her thoughts and running, that she completely missed the other person as she turned the corner.

"OOF!"

Isaribi thumped against a hard body of solid mass and fell backward, her eyes were slightly closed as she waited to fall on the ground.

…

She opened her eyes when instead of feeling herself hitting the hard ground, she felt a pair of arms wrapping around her frame to prevent her from falling.

"Are you alright miss?"

"Uhh…" Isaribi opened her eyes and blushed in embarrassment as she found herself staring into a pair of black eyes. She quickly shook it off as she spoke, "yes I'm fine." when the man let go of her she dusted herself off a bit before turning to her savior. The man was of an average height, maybe a few inches taller than her. With black eyes, blue hair, and oddly sharp, almost shark-like teeth. Though he is kind of cute… she shook her head of the thought as she looked at him, "I'm sorry for bumping into you. I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going."

Chojuro merely waved her apology off, "it's alright, I should have been more aware of my surroundings."

Isaribi tilted her head to the side, "so are you new to Konoha?"

"Oh no I'm not from Konoha," Chojuro replied as he pointed to his hitea-ate, which was located securely on his chest. "I'm from Kiri; I'm here with… the Mizukage as her bodyguard for the Chunin exams."

"I see…" Isaribi looked at the ground for a moment before looking back up, "Anyway I'm sorry for bumping into you, I was on my way to my second job." Chojuro was about to wave her apology off again when Isaribi began speaking, "I know! why don't you allow me to make it up to you!"

Chojuro blinked in surprise and was about to tell her she really did not have to when Isaribi spoke up again.

"I know how about after I get off work I'll give you a tour!" she suggested, "It's the least I can do for running into you."

The young Swordsman tried to tell her it was perfectly alright but was once again interrupted.

"Oh no! I almost forgot I have to get to my job!" Isaribi looked at him, "so I'll meet you here at 5:00 pm and then take you on that tour ok!" She did not give him a chance to respond as she ran off.

Chojuro blinked as he watched the girl run towards the place he just left, wondering what that was all about and if he should do what she suggested. In the end, he decided since she had pretty much told him she would be here, that it would be rude not to accept her invitation. And it's not like she wasn't cute, he blushed a bit at that thought. Maybe he should see if they could do something other than just a tour, after all, it's not like he was going to be getting with Mei now. I wonder if this could be considered a date…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto did not even bother holding in a grin as he watched Mei shovel his food into her mouth, eating as if she had not been fed in weeks. "Enjoying the meal are we?" the blond asked in an amused tone.

Mei blushed as she realized what she was doing; she had been so overjoyed at getting to eat some of Naruto's food that she completely forgot her manners. This was almost as embarrassing as the first time he had cooked for her, which had pretty much been her doing the same thing. However, she had just missed his cooking so much that she had forgotten herself, and Naruto's cooking was far better than eating out like she did when he was not with her.

It was only known to Naruto, but Mei could not cook, in fact, it would be accurate to say that she was downright awful at it. She had only tried to cook once, it had been the first time she had used the Hiraishin kunai to summon Naruto. Mei had wanted to show her appreciation for all he had done for her and felt there was no better way to do that than cook him a good meal. She had remembered reading something about the best way to get to a man's heart was through his stomach, something she discovered while reading in one of the magazines she had on marriage. And so she had set about to try and make Naruto a good meal, the keyword being tried. What she had managed to do instead was create a kitchen catastrophe of epic proportions. First, she had somehow managed to burn the water, how water could possibly burn was beyond her but it had happened. Then she had started a fire in the oven, she had of course used a water jutsu to put it out but the oven had been ruined. Finally, when she thought she had been getting the hang of things, she somehow managed to blow up her whole kitchen. The explosion had sent all of her Shark Anbu in Kiri rushing to her mansion, thinking it was some kind of terrorist or ninja attack. It had only been thanks to Naruto taking the blame for the cooking accident that she had been able to save face in front of her ninja forces. Of course, that had not stopped the utter humiliation that the disaster caused, since Naruto himself had lain witness to it. Of course, he had merely laughed at her, before telling her that he did not care if she could cook or not and that his feelings would never change. She had been so happy that she had proceeded to kiss him senseless, that night had also been the night they had made love for the first time. Turning what had been one of her worst experiences, into one of the best nights of her life.

"Shut up," she mumbled as she looked away from him, her face forming a pout. "It's not my fault your cooking is so damn good, no one else can make such incredible food," she admitted.

Naruto's grin merely widened, "well that's good to know, and after all, I wouldn't want someone taking away my job."

Mei looked at him and quirked an eyebrow in amusement, "job huh?"

Naruto grinned, "That's right; my job is to be Mei Terumi's perfect husband."

Mei blushed as a smile slowly formed on her face, "and what does this 'job' entail other than making amazing food."

Naruto merely smiled as he stood up and walked towards her, a puff of smoke signaled the creation of two Kage Bushin's as Naruto grabbed Mei's hand. While the clones took their plates away and washed them in the sink. Naruto led Mei over to the couch; sitting down the blond pulled Mei with him and situated her in between his legs. His hands soon began to gently massage her shoulders, getting a soft moan from the redhead as she felt the tension in her muscles start to leave her. Naruto leaned his head down and planted a kiss on her neck, "rather than tell you that, why don't I show you," Naruto whispered against her neck.

Mei shivered as the blond's hot breath hit her neck, before letting out a small gasp as Naruto nibbled on her neck. "That… would be mmm… nice," Mei said as she tilted her head to let Naruto have better access to her tender flesh.

Naruto grinned and while his mouth lavished attention on her slender neck, his hands traveled down to her lower back and began to message there. Mei's moans and whimpers began to increase in volume, so much so that she did not hear the tell-tale poof of a Kage Bushin being formed. It was only when she felt two extra sets of hands on her body, particularly her breasts that she opened her eyes and found herself staring at another Naruto. However her eyes closed a second later and her back arched, as the blond in front of her began to gently massage and kneed her breasts through the fabric of her dress.

The clone Naruto leaned in and captured the woman's lips, nibbling on her lower lip until he was granted access to her mouth. Mei grinned into the kiss as her hands trailed up to the zipper on the front of her dress, unzipping her garments so that the two Naruto's could take it off.

She knew that they were not getting any sleep tonight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"98, 99, 100!"

A was sitting behind his desk doing what he always did when he was on the job, neglecting his paperwork to focus on his training. Something that was a common occurrence since he had taken the Raikage title, he was just about to start doing reps with his other hand when a knock at the door interrupted him.

"Enter!" The Raikage called out as he dropped his weight to the floor with a smash.

The door opened to reveal one of his messenger ninjas with a scroll in hand; the ninja walked up and bowed before presenting him the scroll.

A grabbed the scroll and unfurled it before reading its contents. As he did a grin crept onto his face, apparently, three of his shinobi had made it to the finals. This would be the perfect opportunity to check out the caliber of the other nation's shinobi, as he thought of that another thought entered his mind. One that made his smile widen even more. Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze had been reported to have arrived at Konoha about one or months ago and had taken up his Clan name. No doubt Yugito would love to see the young man again; he looked up at the messenger before speaking.

"Get me Bee and Yugito!" A said as he stood up.

They were heading to Konoha.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mei had a large and content smile on her face as she and Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha. After a hearty breakfast, Naruto had decided to take Mei out on a tour, showing her the many sights the village had to offer. She had to smile at the different places he had taken her; each one seemed to have a rather funny story to it. Most of the places he had shown her revolved around one of the many pranks he had pulled when he was a child. Her favorite story had been when he had taken her through the Clan district of Konoha and shown her the Hyuuga estate. He had given her the story of how he had snuck into the estate during the night, and he had managed to dye all of their underwear a bright pink color and hang them up around the village.

She dutifully ignored the stares of jealousy and envy she was receiving from the various females they had passed. Mei figured that Naruto would be popular given his good looks and Clan Status, so while it was annoying she could deal with it. She also had to admit that it was rather amusing that these girls thought they had a chance with Naruto. Mei could proudly claim that she was one of the few people who truly knew the young blond Clan Head, so she knew that he would never consider getting with some fangirl.

As the two walked around Mei took Naruto to several clothing stores, trying on different outfits to tease her blond fiancé with. She even went so far as to come out wearing nothing but a bikini, though that ended up causing a bit of a problem when Naruto smashed his fist into the face of a man who had given Mei a catcall. Other than that they merely walked around discussing various topics that interested them, they made sure to avoid anything even remotely ninja or Kage-related.

Eventually, Naruto stopped them when the two found themselves standing in front of the Ichiraku's Ramen bar. The place had gotten a lot more crowded than it used to be, a combination of Naruto's newfound fame and the Ichiraku's new menu managed to give the place new life. After the blond had returned from his training trip and visited the Ramen stand for the first time, he had suggested that they expand their menu to make more than just ramen. Naruto had even given the stand owner and his daughter a few recipes from his mother's cookbooks. Now the place had become so popular that they had actually needed to make an outdoor area for guests to eat there, as well as hire more help to keep them from being overwhelmed.

"Come on Mei-chan," Naruto said as he gently tugged on her hand and entered the stand. When he did many of the people eating there stopped and stared, something that had been happening quite often nowadays and never ceased to both amuse and annoy the blond shinobi. Several of the men there were giving Mei looks of lust and looked like they might start giving her cat calls, however, Naruto turned an icy glare on them causing whatever they were going to say to die in their throats. Once the people there began to start the conversation again, Naruto made his way to the front of the stand. As always the seat that was specifically reserved for him was open, Naruto smiled as he sat down and pulled Mei with him. As he secured his arms around the redhead, Naruto looked over at Teuchi who was cooking some food over a stove. "Oi! Teuchi-Ojisan how about some ramen for your favorite customer!"

Old man Teuchi turned around when he heard the familiar voice, "Ah Naruto-kun it's good to…" he trailed off as he saw the beautiful woman sitting in the blond's lap. A sly grin crossed the old man's face as he looked at the two, "who is this lovely young lady your with Naruto? Your girlfriend?"

Naruto grinned at the man who had been one of the few people to ever treat him like a human being when he was younger. "Close Ojisan, very close," Naruto cleared his throat as he introduced the two to each other. "Mei-chan this is Teuchi-Ojisan, owner of the best Ramen stand in the entire elemental nations. Ojisan this is Mei Terumi, one of my most precious people and someone I hope to spend the rest of my life with."

While Mei blushed at the rather bold proclamation, Teuchi just blinked for a moment as he looked the two over. As he did he noticed the two's interlocked hands, or more specifically the ring on Mei's left hand. The old man chuckled for a bit before speaking, "so what kind of ramen can I get you and you're… lady friend?"

Naruto grinned, "Start me off with three bowls of Miso and we'll make our way from there."

"And I'll have some shrimp ramen with a side of dorayaki (1)," Mei said as she looked over the menu. While ramen was not her favorite food, she had to admit that it was good on occasion and if Naruto's bragging was anything to go by, the ramen would be even better here.

Teuchi nodded as he turned his head to the back, "Oi Ayame! Why don't you help me make some Miso for our favorite customer?"

"Hang on!" Ayame called out as she came out of the back with a box of supplies, blocking her view of Naruto. Grunting with exertion she put the box down and turned to Naruto with a smile, "so three… Miso… Ra… men…" she trailed off as she noticed that Naruto was not alone, and was in fact cuddled up to a woman with red hair, and if Ayame were honest with herself she would admit to being jealous of the woman's beauty. For a second Ayame felt an intense surge of jealousy, while the young man had always been a younger brother to her, his recent change had made it hard to see him as such. She knew he saw her as a sister, as evidenced by the way he still called her nee-chan. She tried to respond in kind, but it was still hard seeing him with another woman.

"Who is this?" Ayame asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

Despite seeing the narrowing of the younger woman's eyes, Mei merely smiled knowing she was just being protective of Naruto.

Naruto in an effort to diffuse the situation decided to introduce the two of them, "Ayame-nee-chan this is Mei Terumi, one of my most precious people. Mei-chan this is Ayame-nee-chan."

Mei untangled one of her hands from Naruto's and offered it to the brown-haired ramen waitress, "it's a pleasure to meet you Ayame-san, Naru-koi has often talked about you whenever he visits me."

Ayame blinked as her mind registered the affectionate suffix the woman used, looking at Mei's hand she slowly took it, deciding to treat her nicely, if for no other reason than Naruto would want her to. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mei-san, I take it you're not from around here?" Ayame asked trying to be pleasant as she started to make their ramen.

"That's right," Mei said as she raised her voice a bit so Ayame could hear her despite the new distance, "I'm actually from Kiri. I came here because we have an entire team that passed this year, and I felt I could use it as an excuse to see Naru-koi."

"So how did you two meet?" Ayame asked as she brought them their first bowl.

Naruto and Mei smiled as they began to retell the story of how they met, leaving out a few details that they did not want to get out to the public yet. The two stayed there for a while as they continued to speak with the ramen waitress, whenever she was not taking other orders. After three bowls for Mei and twenty-three bowls for Naruto, the two-headed out and continued their walk around Konoha. As the two walked arm in arm around the village, Naruto noticed that the sun was starting to set.

"Hey Mei-chan, why don't we go back home and I'll cook you some dinner," Naruto said.

Mei nodded as she leaned her head on his shoulder while they walked, "that sounds good koi."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where are you taking me Naru-koi?" Mei asked as he led her up a hill. Not that she could actually see that, since Naruto had blindfolded her. They had just gotten finished having dinner a little while ago, and Naruto had said he wanted to show her something. Of course, he also said it was a surprise, hence the blindfold. All she knew for certain was that they were walking up a hill.

"If I told you it would ruin the surprise Mei-chan," Naruto said in a slightly teasing voice. "Just be patient, I guarantee you'll love what I have to show you." Mei gave a pout as she lifted her hand to the blindfold, only for Naruto's hands to grab hers. "Ah ah ah Mei-chan, come on now, you don't want to ruin the surprise do you?"

Mei sighed as she decided to relent as she was led to where ever Naruto was taking her. They continued making their way up the slope, Naruto behind Mei and gently pushing her forward. The woman stumbled a few times since she could not see where she was going; thankfully Naruto was right behind her and made sure she would not fall to the ground. Eventually, Mei began to hear the sound of running water, piquing her curiosity and making her wish she had her hands free, so she could take her blindfold off. As the sound of running water became clearer they stopped, Naruto reached up and undid Mei's blindfold. When the blindfold was removed, Mei found herself gasping at the scene before her.

They standing in a small clearing that had a slope to it, yet somehow it was still able to maintain the water from the small lake in the middle. Said lake was where the noise was coming from; to the pair's right was a decent-sized waterfall. The water of the lake was a crystal clear blue, it was so clear that Mei could actually see the bottom even out in the middle from where she was standing. All around the lake were various forms of flora and fauna, decorating the entire area in different colors. Many of the flowers she did not recognize, but that only made the clearing that much more breathtaking.

"It's beautiful," Mei breathed out in awe at the sight.

"Thank you," Naruto said from behind her, "it took me a while to build. I actually had to have someone I know help me grow the plants faster." he had found out through various means that the Anbu with the Neko mask was named Tenzo, and had found out through accident that he somehow had the ability to use Mokuton jutsu. The blond had managed to get the man's help when he had been assigned guard duty for Tsunade and had overheard Naruto discussing his idea to make this place. And so Tenzo had helped him create the trees, the lake, and the waterfall. Naruto had planted the flowers and plants he wanted to have there. Afterward, he had used a large seal to cast a powerful genjutsu over the entire field so that only he or the few people he wanted to let in here could even see it.

"You made this?" Mei asked in shock, she knew that one of Naruto's hobbies was gardening, but she did not think he would ever take it this far.

Naruto nodded as he walked a little way in front of her, "well not all of it, I had some help." Naruto then proceeded to take off his shirt, tossing it to the side before making to remove the other articles of clothing he had on. Naruto looked back over at Mei who was staring at him, or to be more precise, drooling over his form. Naruto grinned, "I know you like staring at me, but you should probably start taking off your own clothes if you want to go for a swim with me."

Mei blinked a few times as his words registered; as they did she gave Naruto a grin. "I would love to get these infernal clothes off, but the zippers in the back and I can't reach it…" She gave Naruto a pouty expression, "perhaps you could help take it off me."

Naruto chuckled as he stood up in nothing but his boxers, walking behind the beautiful redhead. Grabbing her zipper Naruto moved it down; loosening the dress she was in. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder afterward and began to slide the dress off of her, his hands caressed her sides as her dress fell to the floor, pooling at her feet. Naruto whistled as he stared at Mei, who was now surprisingly completely nude. "Now how did I miss that?" the blond asked rhetorically.

Mei turned her head to give him a sultry smile, "wouldn't you like to know? Now," she turned around to face him. Grabbing the hem of his boxers, the woman's smile increased, "this won't do at all…" with that she slid his boxers off of him. Moving back up and allowing her hands to ghost over him, before she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss, pressing her body against his and sensually rubbing her breasts up and down his chest. Both of them moaned as they felt each other's skin rub against them, sending small jolts of pleasure through them. Mei broke away and grabbed his hand, before leading him towards the water, "now I believe you said something about swimming…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yugito tried not to pay attention to Bee as he began to rap to the guards he had given their passports to, which she would have normally kicked him for. Instead, the blond Kumo Kunoichi was looking out over the village they were at; Konoha was vastly different then what she had been expecting. All of the buildings were made out of a mixture of wood and brick, they were square and fairly standard looking. All around the village were trees, a lot of trees in various shapes and sizes. While she had seen villages that were very similar to Konoha, it was still something she had not expected, given that this was a ninja village.

The atmosphere was also very different then what one would expect from a ninja village. The place had a very peaceful air to it; there was none of the paranoia and militaristic feel that her own village produced. As the three made their way into the village she also noticed the difference in the population. In Kumo, more than 90% of the population was made out of ninja, with the other 10% being civilians such as merchants and the like. Here it looked like more than 50% were civilians, which became quite obvious from the way they were blatantly gawking at them as they passed. However she knew that this did not mean that Konoha was in any way weak, some of the best shinobi in the world were produced here, including Naruto who was one of the most powerful shinobi she knew. Yugito turned her head as she sensed that they already had a tail trailing them; if not for her enhanced senses there would be no way she would have found them.

She shook her head and decided to ignore the ninja trailing them; they did not give off any intent to harm, so they were most likely just watching them to make sure they did not cause trouble. Likewise, she ignored the gaping civilians; they were probably not used to seeing Kumo shinobi much less the Raikage in their village. They walked over to the large red tower in the middle with the kanji for 'fire' over the door, obviously the Hokage tower. Walking inside they took a set of stairs to the third floor, where they spotted a black-haired female looking through some files on her desk.

The three went up to the girl and A tapped on the desk, "Excuse me." the girl looked up and felt her eyes widen as she recognized the Kage robes A was wearing. "I am A, the Raikage of Kumo. With me are my bodyguards Yugito Nii and Kirabi…"

"Yo young one, I'm the master when it comes to fun! I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, that's because I'm the-" Killer Bee began his introduction, only to be interrupted when he was kicked in the face by Yugito.

Before the cat woman could begin yelling, A turned to the girl and spoke. "I believe the Hokage is expecting us."

Isaribi nodded as she walked over to the door that led to the Hokage's office, she knocked on it a few times before opening it and sticking her head in. "Hokage-Sama, Raikage-Dono, and his escorts are here," she informed the busty blond who was for once, actually doing her work.

Tsunade looked up, "very well send them in."

Isaribi nodded before opening the door for the three Kumo ninja to enter. As they did Tsunade stood up and walked over to them in greeting, "Raikage-Dono it is a pleasure to see you here." She stuck out her hand, which the Raikage took. "I trust your trip went well?" Tsunade asked as she went through the customary pleasantries.

"As well as could be expected," A replied, "unfortunately I was not able to find the time to lift my weights, but some sacrifices must be made."

Tsunade blinked for a moment and was glad that she had received a report from Jiraiya about the man's… eccentric and very Gai-like attitude towards training. "That is good to hear," Tsunade said as she went back to her seat. "You are a week earlier than expected; thankfully we have already reserved your hotel rooms for you."

The Raikage scratched the back of his head, "yes well we were also hoping to see Naruto-san sometime before the tournament began…"

"That's right! That's right!" Bee said in an enthusiastic voice, "our kitty here, was hoping that her blond fox was near!"

Tsunade blinked at the odd and rather terrible rapping, she opened her mouth to say something when Bee's head was suddenly implanted in her wall.

"Damn it, Bee!" Yugito yelled an angry and embarrassed blush on her face, "why can't you ever stop rapping! This entire journey that's all you've done! And worse adding me into them!"

Bee merely pulled his head out of the wall, "now come on kitten, you know you shouldn't be hittin."

Tsunade's brow twitched as she watched the duo, a part of her was impressed at her fellow blond's strength. However, another part was rather upset that she would need to get her wall repaired. Deciding to intervene before the blond Kumo kunoichi did that again she spoke up, "excuse me." the three turned their attention to her, "what did you mean when you said… well whatever it was you just said?" Tsunade asked since she was not quite sure what to call his bad rap.

Before Bee could rap again A spoke up. "What he meant was that our little Yugito here," the Raikage pointed to a now embarrassed Yugito. "Has a how shall we put this… a very close relationship to Naruto-san, so we came early to allow her to spend time with him."

Tsunade scrutinized the young blond before her, making the Nibi Jinchurikki blush and squirm under the older woman's gaze. Finally, Tsunade looked at the blond Kumo Kunoichi's hands, sure enough proudly displayed on her right ring finger was a ring. One that looked very similar to the one another woman who had come in a few days ago wore. That little brat! Tsunade mentally ground out. Finding out that Naruto was engaged to the Mizukage was shocking enough, now she finds out he's also engaged to a Kumo Kunoichi and a known Jinchurikki no less!

What was next a Daimyo!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In the middle of a council meeting in Haru No Kuni, Koyuki gave a loud sneeze.

"It seems someone is talking about you, Daimyo-Sama," one of the delegates said.

Koyuki wiped her nose with a tissue her aid gave her, "seems so…" I hope it's Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Before her mental rant could go any further, another thought came to mind. "I suppose you would like to know where Naruto lives, right Yugito-san?" asked Tsunade with a smirk, this will show him what happens when he does not tell me such important information.

Yugito blushed a bright red, "yes."

Tsunade nodded as she grabbed a scroll and wrote down the instructions, giving them to the girl who thanked her before running out of the door.

This will be his punishment, thought the busty blond Hokage as she turned to the Raikage and began their conversation again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mei sighed as she sat on one of the couches in the living room, it had only been a few hours but she was already missing Naruto. The blond shinobi had gone out to train Konohamaru and his team, having felt that he was neglecting them by sending Kage Bushin's every day since Mei had gotten here. She knew that she was feeling spoiled by being here, getting to see him every morning, getting kissed awake every morning… among other things. She grinned as she thought of all the enjoyable times they had had this week, and there are even more enjoyable times on the way…

She looked over at the clock and saw that it was nearing 5:00, meaning Naruto would be getting back soon for their date tonight. That brought up a thought; she still needed to get dressed. Of course, she already knew what she was going to wear; she had Naruto unknowingly buy it for her during their first day together in Konoha. Still, it would take a while to put on so she best get started now, she stood up and was about to go upstairs when the bell for the gate rang.

Mei grunted in both annoyance and curiosity, moving towards the door she wondered who could be coming over since no one had ever bothered to come here before. The beautiful redhead walked outside and up to the gate, placing her hands on the two small circles and channeling her chakra as Naruto told her to. The seals that Naruto had placed all over the gate soon began to retract, curling in on themselves as they moved towards the circles. When they stopped there was a click signaling the gate was unlocked, Mei opened it and was about to tell whoever it was that Naruto was not here. Only to stop when she spotted a woman she had met only once before.

"Yugito-san."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto entered the gate to his house after his training session with Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. The blond was quite pleased with their progress; they had advanced far within the past three weeks. Naruto could honestly say that any one of the three could take on the average Chunin and win, though they still had a long way to go to defeat higher ranked ninja. Still, he was sure that if given time they would get there, he was also sure that they would become Chunin after these exams were over.

Unlocking the door to his house Naruto walked in, looking around as he shut the door. He frowned when he did not see Mei, for the past week that she had been living with him; the woman had always greeted him at the door. Maybe she's just getting ready for our date… Naruto thought to himself as he walked farther into the house. He shrugged the thought off as he walked upstairs to his room to get ready for their date; Mei was a Kage-level ninja so he knew that she was not in any danger. However, before he could get too far along the stairs a noise behind him made the blond stop, or rather two voices made him stop.

"Hello Naru-koi/Naruto-kun."

Naruto turned around in surprise, his eyes soon found a familiar face he had not expected to see so soon.

"Yugi-chan!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto repressed the small shiver of fear that ran up his spine; he looked at the two women both of whom were attached to one of his arms. Naruto had decided that rather than just him and Mei going on the date, it would be him, Mei, and Yugito who had shown up just today apparently. Of course, he had been forced to change the reservations to three instead of two, but that would not be too much of a problem. The only issue would be the increased cost, and Naruto was rich enough that it would not even put a dent in his account. Though even if it did, he would have still taken them out anyway.

However there was a slight problem that Naruto noticed, and that was the tension he felt between the two women he was with. They were not at each other's throats or anything, but he did notice a definite rift between them. That they had also taken to throwing the other the occasional glare only served to confirm this. The blond male was not blind to this, nor to the reasons behind it. Unlike most men, Naruto could proudly say that while he did not know exactly how females thought, he was probably the closest living male to have an inkling of their thought process.

This was due to Naruto's use of the Orokie No Jutsu that he had made when he was a kid, which had been used on several missions he had undertaken with Jiraiya during his training trip. There had been several slave trade rings that he and his perverted sensei had broken up, say what you will about the Toad Sennin's perverseness but the man did respect women, in his own way of course. This had been used as a part of Naruto's training; it had been his job to infiltrate their base of operations somehow. Naruto had decided to use the Orokie No Jutsu to disguise himself as a female, after that he had gotten 'captured' by the bandits who would then take him to be processed before being sold on the black market. His time as a female had given Naruto a look into a female's mindset, allowing him to understand the fairer sex better than most.

Naruto knew that he was the main reason for the tension Mei and Yugito felt between each other, there was not really anything else that could cause it. Both of them were extremely strong females, which meant that they were unused to having to share things. It made it worse that Yugito had never been in love before this, so she did not really know how to handle it. While Mei was a Kage with a flirtatious attitude and a strong desire to get married, she was used to being the center of attention and not just his. So having someone who he loved as much as her with them, and who could compete with her in beauty was a possible recipe for disaster.

Naruto looked at the two of them again; they had both taken the time to dress up in clothes that showed off just how beautiful the two were. Like always Mei was in a blue dress, however, this one differed from the one she usually wore. The dress was strapless and had a low V cut in the back, showing off her slender yet toned shoulders and back. The front seemed a little tight and pushed up her already rather ample bosom, and Naruto could tell she was not wearing a bra. The dress stopped halfway above the knees, allowing Naruto to see her mile-long legs. She also had her hair done up in a traditional Japanese bun, even the four bangs were out of her eyes allowing Naruto to see both of her emerald green eyes. There were a few strands of hair that had gotten loose and framed her face, however that only added to her beauty as far as Naruto was concerned.

Yugito was also dressed up nicely; having taken to wearing the same dress she had on for their first date, bringing a smile to Naruto's face at the fond memory. Her hair was also done up today, rather than let down like she usually had it when they went on their dates. The blond woman was also wearing makeup, red lipstick, and purple eyeliner with a hint of blush. Naruto knew that Yugito only knew the basics of how to put on makeup, hell even Naruto knew more about makeup than she did. Naruto could easily recognize her makeup as the handiwork of Mei.

In an effort to get them to stop throwing each other glares and condescending looks, Naruto disengaged them from his arms before wrapping an arm around the two's waists. "You two look beautiful," Naruto complimented, as he pulled them close enough so that their heads were leaning on one of his shoulders.

Both girls blushed at hearing the compliment, only to notice the other was blushing and ended up glaring at each other again. Unfortunately for Naruto, he had not noticed the glare, though he could feel the increased tension. Thankfully they arrived at the restaurant without any incident.

The three entered the rather opulent entrance to the restaurant, a new one that had opened up just last year called Bukimono's. As they entered Naruto had to hold in a whistle, this place could easily be mistaken for some kind of Palace! Grand columns and tapestries with the Konoha leaf symbol and the Hi No Kuni national flower on them were strung up on the walls. The center of the room was empty at the moment, and rather than soft carpet the floor was made of varnished wood. There was light music being played by a band on a stage on one side of the room, Naruto was able to deduce from this that the center floor was for dancing. Along the walls and large and comfortable-looking booths, with deep red colored cushioning and curved in a quarter circle. Located throughout the restaurant were large aquariums filled with different species of fish, each one filled with species from a different region of the elementals.

Naruto walked up to the front desk where a waitress was standing; tapping it on the desk he got the young woman's attention. Said waitress looked up and blushed at seeing the by now very well-known handsome blond. "How can I help you Namikaze-Sama?" she asked before noticing the two women on his arm and glared.

Naruto kept himself from sighing as he spoke, "I believe that I have a reservation here for three, it would be under Uzumaki Namikaze."

The young waitress stopped glaring at Mei and Yugito, looking down as she leafed through the reservations book. "Let's see… ah! Here it is," the woman grabbed three menus before gesturing for them to follow her. Naruto tightened his hold around Mei and Yugito's waists as he followed the waitress; stopping at the table they were granted. Naruto slid in as Mei and Yugito each got on one side of him, making sure that they were as close as possible without being uncomfortable in the booth. "Now, here are your menus, your waiter will be here shortly, so if there is anything you need do not be afraid to ask him." With that, the young woman gave Naruto's two dates one last glare, before walking back to the front desk.

As they sat Naruto decided to talk in order to dispel the still growing tension between the two women, "so Yugi-chan how have A and Bee been doing?"

Yugito looked up at him and smiled, "they're doing well. A is the same as always, though he has been complaining more recently, something about not getting any challenging fights." Naruto chuckled at hearing that but did not say anything as Yugito continued. "As for Kirabi, well he's Kirabi. He's still doing his terrible raps, and is still getting on my nerves."

"Well it's good to hear that some things never change," Naruto said with a smile, making the blond woman smile as well.

"So you're close to the Raikage Yugito-san?" asked Mei as she tried to get the conversation towards her.

Yugito nodded, "yes, they may be annoying and… eccentric but they have always been the closest thing I've ever had to family."

"That must be nice being so close to the Raikage like that," Mei commented, "I hear he is quite powerful."

Naruto could instantly see where this was going and made to stop it before any argument could break out, "He is fairly powerful, and I would often spar with him when I was in Kumo, so I can tell you first hand that if I was not a Jinchuirkki he would kick my ass six ways to Sunday. By the way, how has Kiri been? I hear you made a trade agreement with Nami recently?"

Mei gave the blond shinobi a grin, "we have, thanks to you…" her grin turned somewhat seductive as she leaned into him. "All it took was your recommendation and they were practically walking over themselves to give us a trade agreement."

"That's great!" Naruto said in an enthusiastic voice as he continued conversing with the two. As the conversation continued, Naruto found out very quickly that he could not stay on any one topic for too long. If he did then either Mei or Yugito would attempt to make a subtly scathing comment about the other, thus Naruto would change topics whenever one of them began to look like they would make a condescending remark. The waiter came a little while later, after the three had ordered their food Naruto decided it may be a good idea to excuse himself for a moment. With how… territorial he guessed was an appropriate word, with how territorial the two were acting, the blond figured it would be best if he were removed from the equation for a while. Hopefully, it would give them some time to talk to each other more civilly.

As Naruto walked off, Mei turned to Yugito and offered the Nibi Jinchurikki a small smirk. "I heard from Naru-koi that you are quite the powerful Kunoichi."

Yugito smirked as well; if this woman wanted to talk ninja she could do that with the best of them. "I am, in Kumo, I am considered the second strongest Jonin."

Mei smiled as if she had won a victory, "that is most impressive, being such a powerful Jonin," Mei finished as she placed an emphasis on jonin, letting the blond woman know who had the higher status.

Yugito frowned as she spoke, "it is nice I suppose, I get to travel and see new sights." Yugito's frown turned into a small smirk as she continued, "plus I don't have to deal with any paperwork other than the standard mission papers."

Mei pursed her lips before smiling, "that does sound nice. Though paperwork is not as bad as many people make it up to be, especially when you have someone like Naru-koi giving you a massage while you work."

Yugito's mouth turned into a thin line, "he does give amazing messages, especially the full body messages he usually gives me when we go to the hot springs."

Mei narrowed her eyes a bit at that; however, she soon gave Yugito a grin. "When Naru-koi and I go to the hot springs we prefer to do… other activities."

Yugito could not hold her glare this time, "yes well some of us have enough decency not to be so blatant about our sex life in public!"

"Don't try to act like your better than me with this," Mei said as she narrowed her eyes at Yugito, "I think you know that you are no better than me. And at least I am not afraid to admit it!"

Yugito hissed at the girl and the two soon began to trade more and more insults, with each one becoming more vicious and degrading than the last. The waiter who had come with their food left rather quickly after setting it down in order to avoid the increasing killing intent coming from the two. Eventually, their argument came to where the two were actually about to trade blows, Mei ended up slapping the blond Kumo Kunoichi. In retaliation Yugito hit Mei hard enough to knock her onto the table, unfortunately for them, Mei also ended up creating enough kinetic force to send their food flying. The two stopped fighting as they watched their food fly into the air, before landing right on top of the whole reason for their argument.

Naruto sighed as he got out of the bathroom, hoping that the two had been able to solve their problem. He walked over towards where they were sitting and blinked in surprise when he saw Mei getting punched in the face. Because of his surprise, Naruto was unable to notice the food that had been sent sailing, food which landed right on top of him. Soon the blond shinobi found himself covered in noodles, sushi, rice, chicken, and some kind of garlic-smelling broth. Without really thinking Naruto took off his jacket and wiped away what he could of the food and sauce while walking over to the two now ashamed-looking women. Naruto did not pay any attention to their expressions, or those of the other customers who were whispering. Gently grabbing the two girls by the hand he led them to the front desk, where he paid for the meal and left.

During the walk home, Naruto had still not spoken as his mind tried to process what happened. He could not understand how the two could actually lose their cool like that, becoming angry enough at each other that they would actually start to fight. Both Mei and Yugito had always been able to keep their emotions under control; they would not be such amazing Kunoichi if they couldn't. His body stayed on autopilot as the three entered the gate to Naruto's house, opening the door Naruto let the two girls in first.

He led the two over to one of the couches and sat them down in one, while he took another. For a moment he just looked at them, making the two bow their heads as they began to feel like a child who had been caught doing something they should not. Finally, Naruto decided to speak, "so… what exactly happened back there? I mean it's not like you two to lose your cool over something unless it was serious."

Both Mei and Yugito looked up as they began to corroborate their story, occasionally trying to interrupt each other and almost getting into another fight. However Naruto made sure to break it up before anything could happen, eventually, Naruto began to get an idea of what happened. A part of him had been afraid this would have happened, after all, if he had to share either of them with another man you can be sure he would not stand for it. A part of him had hoped they would not fight, and that they would at least remain civil until they got to really know each other. Still, he could not blame them for it; after all, it was his fault they were fighting over something like this. It had always been on his mind when he had first been told he would need to marry multiple women by Jiraiya due to his clan, how would they feel about being forced to share him with not just one, but three other women? It was something that he had continuously felt bad about, making him feel like he was denying them a chance to find someone who would be able to spend all of their time with just them.

Naruto sighed as he closed his eyes, "I'm sorry you two," the two women looked at him in surprise. However Naruto did not see their expressions as she spoke, "this is my fault, I doubt you two would have fought if it were not for having to share me. I'm sorry I am not able to give you girls what you deserve, someone who can spend all their time with you and treat you right."

The girls felt their jaws hang open as Naruto spoke, how could he even say that? He had always taken time out of his schedule to visit them, despite it getting even fuller due to his Clan Status being active and all the council meetings he's had to go to.

Naruto stood up, bringing their attention to him, "I'm going to go take shower," Naruto said in response to their looks. "Perhaps you girls could talk, maybe see if this… being with me is what you really want." With that Naruto left, walking upstairs to take a shower.

Both girls put their heads back down as they cursed themselves for getting into a foolish argument. Both knew what happened to clans, especially ones that had kekkei genkai. Due to the war in Kiri, Mei had been forced to order six bloodline clans that were on the verge of extinction because of the war Kiri had gotten out of, to practice polygamy. In fact, due to her bloodline, she would be forced to produce a male heir who could take multiple wives as well. So she knew this would happen, she had told Naruto that she was ok with it. Yet she had still gotten in a fight with one of the other women he was going to marry.

Likewise, Yugito knew of at least three bloodline clans in Kumo that had been placed under the clan breeding program. Hell, they had been going to use the kidnapped Hyuuga Heiress for breeding, had the kidnappers not been caught. Yet even knowing this she had still been rude to Mei, who if she were honest with herself she respected a great deal.

The two looked at each other, "I'm sorry/I apologize," they both blinked as they spoke at the same time. Mei gesture for Yugito to go first.

"I'm sorry," Yugito said, "I did not mean to say any of those things to you. None of them were true; in truth, I actually respect you for being able to make Kage."

Mei smiled, "I would like to apologize as well, I did not mean to say anything that would hurt you, especially with insults that were false."

"So… um…" Yugito squirmed a bit, feeling unsure how to proceed.

Mei decided to help her and stuck her hand out, "friends?"

Yugito smiled and gave a nod as she took Mei's hand, "thanks," Yugito said. She looked over at the stairs and sighed, "We really messed up huh?"

"Yeah we did," Mei said as she too turned her eyes to the stairs. She thought for a moment before a smile crept onto her face, "however I know of a way we can make it up to Naru-koi..." The read head began to explain her plan to Yugito.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day Naruto had a large smile on his face as he and Yugito walked down the street, dutifully ignoring the stares they received. They had been receiving them all day, Naruto was unsure whether it was from them seeing him with someone other than Mei, whom he had been seen around Konoha with for the past week. Or whether it was the ridiculously large smile he was sporting, of course, he felt he had a damn good reason to smile. This morning he had woken up to not just Mei but also Yugito, both of them had been flushed up against him, cuddled onto his chest. It was the first time he had ever slept with more than one of the important women in his life, he had to admit that it felt good.

After he had given them both a wake-up to remember, they had all taken a shower together, having a little fun there before getting clean. The three had then had a large breakfast of Pancakes, bacon, eggs, hash browns, and orange juice, which had been prepared by a Naruto clone. Afterward, Mei had left, saying something about it probably being a good idea if she actually met the genin team she had sent, which she had not done the entire time she had been in Konoha. This had given Naruto and Yugito the entire day to themselves.

And so they had planned out the day, Naruto had first taken Yugito on a tour, similar to the one had given Mei. Around noon Naruto and Yugito had made their way to the ramen bar, although that had not been as good an idea as he had thought at first. When Ayame saw Naruto walking in with another woman besides Mei, she had been pissed. It was the first time the blond shinobi had ever seen his nee-chan so angry at him, she had ranted his ear off about being faithful for nearly fifteen minutes. It was really only thanks to Yugito that he had gotten off easy, helping him explain that he was subjected to the C.R.A., telling her what it was and that she was perfectly ok with knowing that she would not be the only woman marrying Naruto. Though this might have been the wrong thing to say in public, many of the women who had heard had looked at him with a glint in their eyes, he was sure that were it not for Yugito they would have tried to rape him. Once they had gotten their food and talked with Ayame and Teuchi, Naruto and Yugito had gone over to one of the lakes in Konoha, deciding to have a picnic together before cuddling up under one of the trees.

Now the two were walking around Konoha and checking stores that Yugito saw items of interest. unlike Mei who had an insatiable desire to shop, Yugito only had one area of interest when shopping, shinobi-related equipment. The woman despite coming into her more feminine side with Naruto was still at heart a ninja and seemed to have an obsession for high-quality ninja gear in a way that could rival Tenten's weapon fetish.

"This store Naru-kun," Yugito said, using her new pet name for him as she dragged the blond to what Naruto recognized as the Higurashi Weapons store. Naruto smiled as he and Yugito entered the shop, he laughed when he saw his fellow blond stop in her tracks and stare wide-eyed at all of the merchandise, Naruto noticed there was even drool dribbling down her chin.

"Your drooling Yugi-chan," Naruto said as he wiped the small trail of saliva away with a finger. Yugito blushed as Naruto gave her a grin, he was about to make another comment when someone behind him spoke.

"Excuse me but if you're not a ninja I'm afraid you can't come in here."

Naruto turned around to see Tenten standing behind them, "awww Tenten I thought I was a ninja."

Tenten blinked as Naruto turned around, "oh! Naruto I didn't realize it was you, you look different in civilian clothes."

Naruto shrugged, "I suppose, though I thought my hair would be enough of a giveaway to figure out who I was." Tenten held back an embarrassed blush. Naruto laced his hand with Yugito's as he pulled her forward, "Yugito I would like you to meet Tenten, Konoha's foremost weapons expert. Tenten I would like you to meet Yugi-chan, a woman I plan on spending the rest of my life with." Both of the girls blinked at Naruto's introduction, Yugito blushed while Tenten held in a sigh of disappointment. While she was not a fangirl like Ino and Sakura had been in their younger days, where they would try to get with anyone who was hot and from a powerful clan, she would not deny that Naruto was by far the most physically attractive man she had ever met.

Tenten looked at him with an odd expression as she remembered something, "wait I thought you were with that red-haired woman." The weapon mistresses eyes narrowed, "if your cheating on her I'm…"

"Sweat Kami…" Naruto groaned, "What is it with you people and cheating. If you looked up the laws in the Konoha Clan charter regarding any member who is the last of their clan, it states that they are eligible for the C.R.A. and must wed at least four women by the time of their eighteenth birthday, otherwise the council gets to choose wives for them."

Tenten bowed her head for a second, she had not realized that, though in her defense she did not know much about the Clan Charter seeing as how she was not in a clan. "I'm sorry," Tenten said in a small voice.

"No it's alright," Naruto replied as he heaved a sigh, "sorry for snapping at you. This has happened several times, so I'm a little snappy when it comes to that subject." Naruto turned his head and smiled at Yugito as she began to rub his back in a soothing circle pattern. "Thanks Yugi-chan," Naruto said as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

Tenten blushed as the two kissed, "so if you're in the C.R.A. then…"

"I already have four-woman I plan on marrying," Naruto interrupted. While he would admit Tenten was cute, he had no romantic interest in her.

Tenten sighed a bit before perking up, she did not know him that well so it was only a minor disappointment, it just would have been nice to see if anything could have happened between them. Besides they could still be friends. "So what can I get for you today?" Tenten asked as she changed the subject.

"Oh we're just looking around," Naruto replied with an offhand air.

Tenten nodded as she turned to Yugito, "so I don't think I've ever seen you in the store before."

"That's because I'm not from here," Yugito replied as she looked around the store, "I'm from Kumo."

Tenten's eyes widened, "I see… so how do you know Naruto?"

Yugito looked over at her as she spoke, "I met him when he and Jiraiya had come to Kumo."

"Yugi-chan here is a Jinchurikki like me," Naruto said surprising Tenten, thanks to his announcement she knew what he was, but she had not known there were others like him aside from Gaara. "She helped me with my training to use the fuzz balls chakra," Naruto continued with a grin and he could have sworn he heard a grumble of 'insolent ningen' in his mind, "though I'm still not as good with my Bijuu's chakra as she is."

"I see," Tenten said as she did not know what else to say, "Well you might not want to tell Neji about…"

"I wouldn't worry," Naruto reassured her, "that was the Sandaime Raikage, the Yondaime has no interest in the Hyuuga Clan."

Naruto and Yugito spent some time talking with Tenten. When they decided to leave Naruto ended up buying several kunai that could channel elemental chakra and several exploding tags. After they left Naruto looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was starting to set.

"Hey Yugi-chan," Naruto said, getting the young woman's attention. Naruto wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, "there's something I want to show you." He didn't even give her a chance to respond as he disappeared within a shunshin, reappearing on top of the Hokage Monument.

Yugito was about to ask Naruto what that was about when she turned and saw the village from atop their perch, "oh wow…" The entire village looked like it was on fire, the reds, yellows, oranges, and purples mixing together, forming one of the most amazing sunsets she had seen.

"I know right?" Naruto said with a grin, gently grabbing Yugito's hand as he led her over to one of the spikes from his father's hair. Sitting down the blond shinobi pulled Yugito in between his legs, wrapping his arm securely around her waist. Yugito leaned into his back, letting her head rest against his as he set his on her shoulder. For several minutes they stayed like his, letting each other bask in the comforting presence of the other. After a while, Naruto spoke up, "I always use to come here when I was a kid, whether it was to think or just get away from the villagers this has always been one of my favorite spots. It's kind of funny really, all this time I had come up here and sat on my 'fathers' head and never knew it."

"Perhaps you knew instinctually that he was your father," Yugito said as she turned her head and kissed Naruto's cheek.

"Maybe…" Naruto replied with a grin.

"What about your mother?" Yugito asked, she had always been curious about his parents. She of course knew of his father but had never really heard much about his mom, she only knew her last name was Uzumaki.

"My mother's name was Kushina Uzumaki, who was a Kunoichi from Uzushiogakure No Sato…"

The rest of their time on the Hokage Monument was spent with Naruto telling Yugito what he knew of his mother.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Omake: Repercussions of an Author pt. 3

Naruto sighed as he finally managed to slip his way past the last horde of fangirls and reach his destination. He grinned at how he had finally been able to get rid of, or at least avoid the nuisances that were fangirls. It had taken a while but Naruto had found a book specifically designed to avoid them, it was called Fan Girl 101: How to Identify and Avoid Fan Girls. The book was an absolute godsend for the blond. The odd thing about the book though was the writer, it was apparently written by Itachi Uchiha. Naruto had to laugh at that, one of his biggest problems for the future had just given him the solution to one of his largest issues right now. He would have to thank the man before they fought.

Naruto entered the place he had spent an hour trying to get to with a large smile on his face. Walking over to the front desk Naruto tapped on it to get the attention of the young woman manning it. Said woman looked up and felt heat spread to her cheeks as she recognized him, thankfully she realized the need to be professional while on the job and greeted him properly, albeit she was still blushing.

"How can I help you today?" she asked.

"I'd like to spend the day in one of your onsens," Naruto replied as he unsealed Gama-chan.

"Very well Namikaze-Sama," the young girl looked at their standing price for the day, "your total comes to 10,000.00 yen."

Naruto nodded as he handed the girl the appropriate amount, sealing the wallet up again. Naruto began to make his way over to the male changing rooms when the woman stopped him.

"Wait!" Naruto turned around to see the young woman holding up his book, "can you sign this please?"

Naruto looked at the girl before sighing, grabbing the book he unsealed one of the Fuiinjutsu brushes he always kept on hand. "What's your name?" Naruto asked as he signed.

"Miari," the girl answered with a light blush staining her cheeks.

"Alright," Naruto said as he finished signing and handed the book back.

"Thank you soo much," Miari squealed as she began to cuddle the book to her chest.

Naruto just smiled and walked out.

Miari continued cuddling the book to her breast, however, she blinked a few seconds as she felt she was forgetting something. Finally, a gasp escaped her as she remembered.

"Oh no! I forgot to tell him today was mixed bathing!"

Naruto finished taking off his clothes, folding them up he put them in one of the baskets. Almost as soon as he opened the door he knew something was wrong, opening it all the way Naruto saw that there were females in the hot spring.

Lot's and lots of females.

As the group of girls, which seemed to be at least in the number of about fifty, stared at him, Naruto began to sweat.

"U-uh… hello," he said weakly.

As if by some signal all the girls stood up.

"IT'S NAMIKAZE-SAMA! LET'S GET HIM!"

Naruto paled as the girls rushed him, he could not get away in time as they grabbed him. All of them yelling about how amazing he was and asking if they could have his children, all the while grabbing onto parts that only belonged to four women.

Naruto cried anime tears, knowing that this was the end.

He was so scared he never even thought of using Kariwimi or Hiraishin to escape.

In a tree overlooking the hot spring, Jiraiya of the Sennin was furiously scribbling down in his notepad. "Damn that gaki's an absolute gold mine!" Jiraiya listened to Naruto screams for help and not touch his meat stick. "I'm so glad I let slip he was going to the hot springs today," the white-haired Sennin smirked, "serves him right for all the times he and his women beat on me."

For the next few hours, Jiraiya watched and wrote as Naruto struggled furiously to keep the rabid, mouth foaming fangirls away from his family goods.