Chapter 29

Naruto, Yugito, Koyuki, and the remaining survivors of Kumogakure no Sato needed to trek across the Elemental Nations. They would have taken Koyuki's zeppelins, but they had not brought enough to carry everyone. All of the injured were ferried away on zeppelins, while those who were uninjured, or at least capable of walking, began the long journey to Konoha on foot.

They did not have any carriages to carry people, so everyone was forced to walk. Naruto cursed his own lack of foresight. The rescue operation had been hastily thrown together, so little thought had been given to what would happen if there were too many people to take on the zeppelins. Naturally, this meant they hadn't possessed the forethought to take any other modes of transportation with them either.

Out of the 2,365 survivors, 1,300 had been grievously injured; those people had been loaded in the zeppelins, which left 1,065 to trek across the Elemental Nations. Sadly, even if those people weren't wounded to the point of being incapable of walking, that didn't mean the journey would be easy.

Kumogakure was home to some of the roughest terrains. Mountain passes with innumerable sheer drops, dark forests with little space to walk through, and a lot of deadly animals. Their current route took them down the mountain range that the now destroyed Kumogakure had been housed in. They had to pick their way carefully, constantly double and even triple-checking their surroundings to make sure the area wasn't too dangerous for the dispirited Kumo refugees.

"Are you sure deciding to walk to Konoha with us was a good idea, Koyuki?" asked Yugito as she and Naruto helped Koyuki descend down the mountain.

"I wanted to be with you," Koyuki said. "Are you saying I should have left with the zeppelins?"

Since Naruto was the one leading everyone to Konoha, he maintained his place at the head of the pack, securing safe routes for the people to travel. Yugito and Samui were with him. They knew the terrain far better than he did, which was a boon when it came to discovering unstable paths. The big surprise was Koyuki, who not only insisted on coming, but also demanded that she stay with him, Yugito, and Samui.

"Well… no," Yugito said after a moment's hesitation. "But it would have been safer for you if you had gone on a zeppelin. Also, your clothing isn't really made for walking long distances in."

Koyuki's clothing consisted of an extravagant kimono whose primary color was pale blue. Royal purple trimmings lined the edges and hem. The high collar flapped in the breeze. Her kimono was actually a furisode, so the sleeves were much longer, traveling all the way down to nearly her knees. In a similar manner, her obi had several layers of blue, purple, and gold. It tied in the back, with the golden layer looping through the bow and trailing down to her ankles.

Looking at her clothing, Koyuki had to nod. "Yes, I suppose you're right. This is a bit too extravagant for traveling on foot."

A bit? Were the thoughts of Naruto and Yugito. Not only were those clothes long, but they also went down all the way to her ankles. The chances are her tripping, especially in this terrain, were beyond high. The only reason she hadn't yet was thanks to him and Yugito.

"In that case-" ssscchhht! A loud tearing sound echoed through the mountains as Koyuki, gripping her kimono, liberally ripped it off.

"Ah! What are you doing?!" Yugito shrieked.

"Why are you stripping now?!" Naruto also shrieked. "Hurry and cover yourself up!"

"But I am covered up," Koyuki said in a "what are you two freaking out for?" kind of voice.

Naruto and Yugito gave a simultaneous "huh?" before they realized that, true to her words, Koyuki was still decent. Black shorts that conformed to her bottom creased around her butt cheeks as she walked, but they didn't reveal anything either. And the white shirt that she wore, which stretched taut across her bust, also kept the goods from spilling out. Her clothing might have been a little skimpy, but it still covered everything that needed to be covered. Still…

"Aren't you cold in that?" asked Samui. "Kumo isn't the warmest nation, you know."

"Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit chilly," Koyuki admitted.

Naruto and Yugito's simultaneous facepalm echoed across the mountains.

XXXXXXXXXX

To reach Konoha, Naruto and company needed to travel through the Land of Frost and the Land of Hot Springs. Contrary to its name, the Land of Frost was not, well, frosty. In fact, the climate was actually quite mild.

The Land of Frost was a country dotted in forests. The temperature was fairly warm year-round, only growing mildly chilly in the winters. There were a few places where it snowed, but those were the peaks of tall mountains, which Naruto could only see in the distance. Their current travels took through them knotted glades, with trees that were thick and had branches wrapped around each other. It was a good thing there was a path for them to follow.

It was two days into their journey. The sun had gone down, and while there weren't a lot of stars out yet, it wouldn't be long before the night sky was filled with twinkling lights. That was why they had decided to make camp.

Their camp was set in a series of small clearings located within a forest. As good fortune would have it, Koyuki had been smart enough to bring numerous extra tents. There were enough for all 1,065—1,155 if he counted the Kumo shinobi who came with them. That meant no one would be sleeping outside that night.

Food was a bit of a problem, but fortunately for everyone there, Naruto was a master of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. That technique made foraging for food a simple matter. While everyone else worked on setting up the tents, he was able to find plenty of edible plants, caught a lot of fish, and found captured rabbits to feed an army.

Multiple fires sprang up around the clearings as people cooked the food that Naruto had caught. Naruto was sitting around a fire with Koyuki, Yugito, and Samui. While he and Koyuki did most of the cooking, Yugito helped comfort Samui, who was still coming to terms with the fact that her friends and brother were dead.

"It's still pretty hard to believe," Samui admitted so quietly that Naruto, who was sitting right next to them, could only hear it thanks to his enhanced senses. "I mean, one minute we were all drinking in a tavern, and then the next our village was being destroyed and we were fighting against an unstoppable enemy. I could barely figure out what was going on before everything just seemed to end."

Yugito wrapped an arm around Samui's shoulder, pulling the other girl close. "I'm sorry. I wish I had been there to help."

Samui's short hair swayed as she shook her head. "No, had you been there, that bastard would have just gotten you as well. He not only defeated Kirabi-sensei, but he also took down Raikage-sama. That man… it's like he wasn't even human."

Naruto wasn't sure why, but listening to Samui made him feel guilty. Perhaps it was because, as one of Jiraiya's students, he felt responsible for what one of his peers did. It could have also been something even more simple. The reason probably didn't matter as much as the feeling itself anyway. It didn't change that he wished he could have done something to prevent all this from happening.

And now Konoha has been attacked as well.

Konoha might have survived, but it had taken heavy damage. Naruto didn't delude himself into thinking that his presence could have made a difference. One person cannot be everywhere at once—not even someone with the Hiraishin—and from the sound of what happened, the problem had been one that strength alone couldn't have solved. Still, the fact that he hadn't been there, helping, was a blow to his sense of duty.

Koyuki bumped against his shoulder. "Thinking heavy thoughts?"

"Just thinking about how so many bad things have happened in such a short time." Naruto smiled, though it was more resigned than anything else. "There's a lot going on, and I feel a little helpless. I guess all this stuff that's happening is making me realize how small I am in the grand scheme of things, or something."

"Pfft!" Koyuki snorted. "What are you doing, getting all mopey and sentimental? Where's the ninja who kept obnoxiously proclaiming that he was going to become Hokage every chance he gets? What happened to that guy?"

"Oh, he's still here. You don't need to worry about that." Naruto jabbed a thumb into his chest. "I'm going to become Hokage. I just… know my limits now, is all."

"Is that so?" Leaning back and looking at the sky, Koyuki's smile widened as though his words amused her. "That doesn't sound like you at all. Aren't you the man who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'limit'? I could have sworn you were the kind of person who broke every limit placed on him."

'She has a point.'

'Kyuubi? Been a while since I've heard from you.'

'I don't make it a habit to speak with hairless apes.'

'Still as charming as ever, I see. What's what you were saying about her point?'

'Just that you've always been the type who was overconfident to the point of being stupid. You never shut up about how you're going to become Hokage, or how you're going to make me tell you my name. Do you know how annoying that was? I pretty much told you my name because I hated the idea of you constantly annoying me.'

'I can't tell if you're complimenting me or not.'

'Hmph. I'm just saying that the Naruto who was always confident and never gave up, he's a lot better than the one who mopes.'

Naruto knew that he wasn't really being himself right then. He knew that, but there were times where even he didn't feel confident, where he felt helpless, powerless. As confident as he was, as strong as he acted, he couldn't stay that way all the time. He wasn't that strong. However…

'Yeah… I, you're right. I need to be strong for the people here. Thanks… Kurama.'

'Tch! What have I told you about calling me by my name?'

'You never said I couldn't.'

'…'

Naruto could barely stop from chuckling as Kyuubi fell silent. He didn't use Kyuubi's name often, mostly because he didn't think he had earned the right, but there were times when he just couldn't help it. In either event, the giant, nine-tailed ball of fuzz in his gut was right. He couldn't really afford to mope around. As the person in charge of this operation, he needed to remain strong and indomitable.

"Naruto?" Koyuki asked when he didn't respond to her.

He grinned. "It's nothing. I was just thinking that you were right. I've been too mopey lately. I can't do anything if I'm depressed like this." Clapping his hands, Naruto grabbed one of the sticks with grilled fish on it. "Okay! Time to eat and regain my good cheer! Damn it. Why didn't I think of bringing a scroll filled with ramen?"

Naruto grabbed his head in his hands and shook back and forth as he realized the severity of his personal problem. Thinking on it, he hadn't been able to eat a good bowl of ramen in so long. How long had it been anyway? Days? Weeks? Months? It felt like ages since his last good bowl of ramen. Not only that, but because of how much had been going on lately, he hadn't even thought about having a good bowl of ramen.

While Naruto was going through mental ramen withdrawals, Samui leaned over to Yugito and whispered in the other woman's ear. "Is your boyfriend having a mental breakdown?"

"Just ignore him." Yugito grabbed two sticks of fish, one of which she handed to Samui. "Here. Eat up and regain your strength."

As Samui took her first bite of fish, a loud scream pierced the night air. Naruto stopped putting on an act, Koyuki jumped at the sound, and Yugito and Samui both looked in the direction that the scream had come from.

Dozens of meters out, in one of the other clearings, the fires had gone out. More screams filled the air. Naruto and Yugito looked at each other. Yugito stood up.

"Koyuki," Naruto said, no longer moping or acting dumb. His tone was sharp enough to cut through steel. "I need you and Samui to stick with us. Don't leave our side for even a second."

"Okay." It was a testament to her faith in him that she didn't ask any questions. She and Samui stood up and followed him and Yugito as they rushed toward the source of the screams.

The screams had come from several clearings over. However, by the time they were goaded into action, the chaos had spread to multiple other clearings. When they arrived in the next clearing, it was to discover several dozen ninjas wearing Frost headbands wreaking havoc on the civilians. They leaped into the crowd, spilling blood as they slashed people's throats with kunai. Several performed a number of hand seals and called out their jutsu.

"Kaiton: Gokyaku no Jutsu!"

Fire spewed from several mouths, and the civilians, innocent people who'd just lost their homes, lit up in a blazing torrent of flames.

W-what the hell is going on here?

Naruto couldn't let his shock stop him. Before his mind had a chance to fully understand what was happening, his body acted. He pushed off the ground, throwing himself at the people casting the jutsu. They were the larger threat.

The first person he attacked was an older man with graying hair. Naruto appeared before him, a swirling sphere of chakra in his left hand. He shoved the Rasengan into the man's face. The shinobi's head exploded in a spray of blood, skull fragments, and gray matter.

"What the—"

"Who the hell is this?!"

Naruto ignored the surprised shouts from his enemies and, rushing toward the next person, he relieved them of their arm with a wind chakra enhanced kunai. The kunoichi he attacked fell to the ground with a scream. They weren't a threat anymore, so he moved on.

His next opponent was more prepared for him. It was another kunoichi, again, wearing the Frost headband. She went through a series of hand seals and placed her hands on the ground—tried to place her hands on the ground.

"Doton—eh?"

The woman stared at her now missing hands, which Naruto decided she no longer needed, for a full five seconds. Then the pain kicked in. She screamed and screamed, and she would have continued screaming, but Naruto kicked her in the head. Her head snapped back. She remained in that position for several seconds, her back arched, and then she fell to the ground. Her eyes were glazed over. Naruto had broken her neck.

Still close to Naruto, but far enough so they weren't in each other's way, Yugito attacked the Frost shinobi with a series of vicious claw slashes. Her fingernails were encased in fire. Every attack sliced through and then cauterized. While this meant they wouldn't bleed out, the amount of pain one felt was double that of what they would normally feel.

It also meant that any limbs they lost could not be reattached.

"What is this woman?!"

"She's a monster!"

Yugito must have been enraged. The Nibi's red chakra was already bubbling around her skin, creating a cloak with two wavering tails. She tore into the enemy shinobi with a vengeance. Arms flew off. People were crippled. Naruto didn't think he'd ever seen so many people losing limbs at such a quick rate before.

Someone tried to sneak up on him while he was observing Yugito, but Naruto sensed their movement and backhanded the shinobi away without looking.

Naruto checked to make sure Koyuki and Samui were okay. Koyuki was behind Samui, who had a kunai in her left hand. There were no enemies near her, but Naruto created six clones to surround the pair anyway. Not that he didn't think Samui was incapable. She had just experienced something traumatic. That might affect her fighting ability.

Since Yugito was tearing through the enemies attacking from outside, Naruto darted into the crowd of civilians. There were several ninjas mixed among them. Naruto could see them slipping through the panicking people, slitting throats and breaking necks. Carmine fluids flew through the air, painted the ground, stained the people. A threnody of terrified wails made Naruto grit his teeth as he slipped around a civilian.

Swish! Naruto shuffled behind an enemy shinobi. Their kunai glinted in the moonlight as it moved toward another innocent person. Naruto grabbed the arm that held the kunai, twisted it around, broke it, and then, while the person was screaming, he grabbed their head between his hands and, with a loud crack!, snapped their neck.

Naruto couldn't count the number of people he had killed. A red haze fell over his vision, blocking out the atrocities he committed. The scent of blood hung heavily in the air, acrid and overpowering, causing his nose to wrinkle. He moved swiftly through crashing bodies. It was fortunate that he was not alone. Yugito was quick to dispatch all of their attackers, who had been acting to hem the group in. Not long after she had killed everyone surrounding them, did the group of civilians properly disperse.

"Naruto-sama!" several snow shinobi appeared before him. All of them had some form of injury, from simple cuts to more life-threatening wounds.

"Status report!" Naruto ordered.

"Sir! All of our camps were ambushed by shinobi from several different villages. It seems they knew that we were coming down this way. They had cut off each camp with several dozen shinobi, and then attacked while we were distracted."

In theory, it was a sound plan. By surrounding each camp and sending people into a crowd of innocent civilians, it was easy to indiscriminately kill without worry. The protectors would be too afraid to attack without fear of hurting their own people. However, while strategically a sound plan, it was morally reprehensible.

"What's our casualties?"

The snow shinobi hesitated. "… we didn't lose many shinobi. We had ten casualties and five fatalities. However, we've confirmed two hundred civilian deaths."

Naruto closed his eyes, took a deep breath, held it, and then released it all in one go. He allowed his rage to dissipated, let his anger leave him. He was still upset, but he couldn't afford to let his anger cloud his judgment, and he couldn't allow himself to blame his enemies.

"Do we know where their base is located?"

The snow shinobi shook his head. "Negative. We had several people try to follow them, but we lost them several kilometers out. They know this terrain too well."

"We'll not try to track them, then," Naruto decided. "Burn down all of the foliage within a two-kilometer radius of us and establish a defensive position. I'll create some clones to help."

"Yes, Naruto-sama!"

The shinobi offered a salute before disappearing. Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, trying to stem the flowing tide of emotional exhaustion that washed over him. He had so many questions. Why were he and the others being attacked? It was clear that something had changed, but Naruto couldn't for the life of him figure out what.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto arrived with the group of Kumo refugees several days later. There had been no attacks during the rest of their journey, which Naruto was grateful for. At the same time, he knew they were being watched. While not much of a sensor, Naruto had been able to occasionally see the shinobi tracking them. He would have attacked, but his priority had been the safe deliverance of the refugees to Konoha; that was far more important than capturing and interrogating a potential enemy—for now.

When Naruto arrived at Konoha with the refugees, it was to see the extent of damage done to Konoha. Even standing in front of the gates, he could see the demolished buildings in the distance. Roofs had collapsed, walls were reduced to rubble. The sight made him clenched his hands into fists.

"Naruto!" Kotetsu greeted with some enthusiasm. As always, he and Izumo were guarding the gate. "Man, am I glad to see you, though I wish circumstances were different."

"You should go on ahead," Izumo added. "Hokage-sama wants to see you right now. Don't worry about the refugees. Several temporary buildings have been prepared for them in one of our training grounds while we repair Konoha."

"Right." Naruto sighed and turned to Koyuki, Yugito, and Samui. "Koyuki, you should probably come with me. Yugi, Samui? I think you two should help the refugees settle in."

"You got it, Naruto." Yugito kissed him on the lips. "We'll help out here."

"Yuki-chan?" Naruto held out his arm.

Koyuki hooked her arm around his and walked into the village. As they walked through, Naruto finally had a closer glimpse of the destruction. It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Even so, seeing the collapsed buildings, the rubble-strewn about the roads, and the disheartened expression of the people, caused pain to appear in his chest. He didn't regret going to help Kumo's refugees, but he wished he could have done something to help his own people, too.

"Try not to recriminate yourself," Koyuki said suddenly. "Nothing good will come of it."

"I know." Naruto leaned his head down and kissed her lips. They tasted sweet, like strawberries and vanilla. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

XXXXXXXXXX

Several people were already inside of the Hokage's office when he and Koyuki arrived. Kakashi and Gai stood side by side, and with them was Genma, whose arm was in a sling. Jiraiya, Sakura, and Shizune were also there, of course, and so was Hiashi Hyuuga and Danzo—a surprise. Naruto didn't think Tsunade would let him stick around, but he guessed it was to appease the elders.

"Naruto!" One other person who was inside the office was Konan. The moment he entered, she was walking over to him. She didn't kiss him. There was a hesitance in her movements, which he guessed was because they weren't alone. Their relationship wasn't a secret, but given what happened, she probably didn't want to draw too much attention to herself.

"Konan, I'm glad you're okay," he said, taking her hand.

She smiled at him. "Me too. I was worried after we got word of those shinobi ambushing you."

"That ambush is actually part of the reason we're holding this meeting," Tsunade said, using Konan's words to lead into the topic she wanted to discuss.

Naruto and Koyuki walked further into the room. Danzo frowned, but he didn't say anything as Naruto, Konan, and Koyuki stopped next to Jiraiya.

"Good to see you, brat."

"Nice to see you too, Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya clicked his tongue at the dreaded nickname, though he didn't say anything. He didn't get the chance. Tsunade began speaking soon after.

"We've learned through Jiraiya's spy network that Pain, aka Nagato, has created an alliance between Akatsuki and all of the minor hidden villages. Furthermore, the minor villages have officially declared war on the major villages."

No one was surprised by this announcement, but a noticeable tension now filled the air, a sort of resigned tension, as though everyone had been expecting this but were hoping it wouldn't happen. The only one who didn't seem bothered was Danzo. This also didn't surprise Naruto. Warmonger that he was, going to war could only be a good thing in Danzo's mind.

"We have several contingencies put in place in the event that war broke out," Kakashi said. "But I don't know if any of them will work now."

"Considering our enemy is Nagato, a prolonged war is the last thing we want," Jiraiya added.

Danzo tapped his cane against the ground. "Considering you're the reason we're in this mess in the first place, I do not believe you have any room to speak, Jiraiya-san."

While Jiraiya clenched his hands into fists, he did not reveal anything else about his emotional state. It must have been galling to be called out on something like this. This was especially true since Jiraiya still didn't think he'd done anything wrong when it came to training Nagato.

Naruto looked at Konan, who stood beside him with gritted teeth, and then looked back at Danzo. On any other occasion, he might have remained silent. Maybe. However, he had no intention of letting a slight like this go, not when the true fault lied not with Jiraiya, but with the man who was doing the accusing.

"If there is anyone who has no room to talk, it's you, Danzo," Naruto said. "After all, it was you who teamed up with Hanzo Hattori to kill Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko. If you hadn't intervened in Amegakure's problems, none of this would have happened."

Danzo's hands tightened on his cane. "I did what I did for the safety of Konoha."

"And look at how safe Konoha is now," Naruto shot back. "We were attacked by the man who you tried to kill. It sounds to me like you're attempt at protecting our village has backfired spectacularly."

Tension filled the air once more. Danzo glared at Naruto, who had no trouble glaring right back. He could practically feel the sparks flying between them. Everyone else watched on, so silent, barely breathing, as if they were afraid that letting out the slightest noise would bring negative attention onto them.

"Who is to blame for our current situation is not important right now," Tsunade said. "What's important is how we deal with this situation." She paused, sighed, and then continued. "I have sent letters to all of the remaining kages, asking for a conference together, so we can decide what to do about our current situation. Given that Pain has declared war on all of the major villages, this isn't just something that affects only us."

"When is the meeting?" asked Gai.

"The meeting is one week from now in the Land of Iron," Tsunade said. "In one week, I will travel there and meet with the other kages."

XXXXXXXXXX

The meeting lasted for half an hour longer as they discussed who would be on bodyguard detail. Naruto and Kakashi were a given. They made a good team, and they were two of the strongest shinobi on the current roster. Jiraiya would also be going. Even with one arm, he was still an excellent ninja, and he had clout in the ninja world. Other than those three, it was decided that Konan, Yugito, and Maito Gai would be traveling with Tsunade. Naruto and Jiraiya would be Tsunade's primary guards, while Yugito went to represent the displaced people of Kumo. Kakashi and Gai were back up.

"Naruto, if you could stay behind for a moment," Tsunade said as everyone began to leave.

Konan and Koyuki looked at him, but he waved them off with a smile. "Why don't you two go out and have some fun together? Yuki-chan, Konan's been feeling down recently, so I'm counting on you to show her a good time."

The beaming smile on Koyuki's face told him all he needed to know. The shocked look on Konan's also told him what he needed to know.

"Leave it to me." Koyuki gave Naruto a silly salute before she grabbed Konan's hand and dragged her out of the room. "Come on, Konan. Let's do something fun."

"Erm, but wait, I don't—" Konan tried to say, but she was overpowered by the less physically powerful woman.

"There's no need to hesitate. Let's go out and have some fun."

Konan was soon pulled out of the door, which closed behind them, leaving Naruto and Tsunade alone. The fifth Hokage, sitting behind her desk, reached down and pulled out a bottle of sake and two saucers. She filled one saucer. Then she filled the other. Naruto took the hint, grabbed one of the saucers, and sat down on the couch that he knew Tsunade sometimes slept on when she was pulling an all-nighter.

"Things are heading in a way that I don't think any of us could have foreseen," Tsunade said. She paused here, then took a swig of her drink. "Things are going to get a lot harder from here on out. For everyone."

"Um, Granny, not to put a reign on your parade or anything, but did you ask me to stay so you could speak in cryptic sentences?" asked Naruto, taking a sip of his sake.

"Don't be rude, brat." Tsunade took another sip of sake. "I called you here for a number of reasons. First, we need to talk about Konan."

"Do you still not trust her?" asked Naruto.

"That's not it." Tsunade shook her head, took another sip of sake, and then sighed. "I trust her just fine. The problem is Danzo and the two elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. Danzo is the one that I'm really worried about. I have a feeling that he'll try something soon, though I don't know what. I have a feeling they might try to assassinate her."

"Danzo is a patriot," Naruto said, swirling the sake in his saucer. "If you want to kill him off before he can cause harm to Konoha, you should send him on a suicide mission."

"I'm surprised to hear something like that come out of your mouth."

Naruto remained silent for a moment, getting his thoughts in order. Truth be told, he was kind of surprised to hear those words himself, but at the same time, a lot of today's problems could be laid solely at Danzo's feet. His warlike policies had created more problems than solutions.

Naruto turned his head and looked over at the wall upon which a portrait of the Hokages past and present were hanging. The first and second hung side by side and the third was on the left of the second. Right next to the third was the fourth, and then Tsunade. He wondered what the previous Hokage would do in this situation.

"I'm generally not a fan of suicide missions," Naruto said. "Or of sending people on them because you want them to be killed. However, for a man like Danzo, I recognize that we may not have much choice."

"Maybe…" Tsunade agreed, though she still sounded shocked that he would suggest doing such a thing.

"What else did you want to talk to me about?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade coughed into her hand, and a sudden hesitant look came over her face. Naruto sensed a shift in her emotions. Whatever she wanted to talk about now, it was clearly a serious issue, perhaps even more so than Danzo and his cohorts. Even though he was curious to know what she wanted to discuss, he didn't rush her. It was better for her to speak on her own time.

"We need to talk about the Kumo refugees," Tsunade admitted at last. "Thanks to the recent attack on Konoha, we no longer have the means to support so many new people."

"Are you saying that you can't accept the Kumo refugees?" asked Naruto. The long pause that followed his question was answer enough. Naruto stood up. "Gran—no, Tsunade-sama, I know that we're in a tight spot thanks to the attack, but Kumo was destroyed. Its people have nowhere to go, and we were the ones who instigated the rescue mission. Are you telling me that we can no longer accept them after already agreeing to?"

Taking a deep breath, Tsunade looked up and stared into his eyes. Her expression was stern, unwavering, the face of a leader who was being forced to make a difficult choice.

"Right now, our village doesn't have the means to support them," she said. "It's not a matter of not wanting to. It's a matter of not being able to. With all the repairs we need, with the money we're going to be spending, and with the war on the horizon, our infrastructure can no longer support that many refugees."

From a purely logical standpoint, her words were not incorrect. If their village couldn't afford to sustain more people, then that meant its infrastructure would probably break if they accepted the refugees. At the very least, Konoha would experience a time of drastic economic hardship. They couldn't accept the refugees and repair the village at the same time.

"Then what if we only accept a few refugees and ask Water, Sand, and Spring country to accept the rest?"Naruto suggested. "If we share the burden of accepting refugees, the cost it takes to allow them in will be lessened."

"That is true," Tsunade admitted. "Can you guarantee that the other nations will agree to help?"

"Of course I can!" Naruto grinned. "Gaara is my best friend, and Koyuki and Mei are both with me. I'm sure if we ask them, they would all be happy to help!"

"I'll send out the letters then," Tsunade sighed. "Since this is an official request from the Hokage, I can't afford to leave it to you."

"I'll talk to Koyuki about it as well since she's currently here," Naruto said.

"That's fine."

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, there was one more thing I wanted to tell you." The expression on Tsunade's face, which had already been quite stern, suddenly appeared sharper than any blade. "Sasuke has gone missing from his cell. We have no idea as to what happened, but it appears he escaped during the chaos."

XXXXXXXXXX

Danzo stood in the center of a dark, subterranean room with very little light. The gray floor was all that could be seen. Lights from overhead did a poor job of illuminating the space around them, leaving only a single center of illumination.

With him were his two colleagues, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, the two elders who were supposed to have an advisory role to the Hokage—or the two people who were on the advisory role before Tsunade had forced them into retirement.

"What do you want with us, Danzo?" asked Koharu.

"If you called to ask for our support, then you know that we no longer have any support to give," Mitokado added. "Our political power has been all but taken from us thanks to Naruto Namikaze."

"I am aware of the struggles that you two are facing right now," Danzo said. "However, it is because of these struggles that I believe we need to strike soon. Konoha has become weak. The Akatsuki's attack on our village has proven that we no longer have the strength we once did. What's more, the minor villages have decided to rise up against the major villages."

"An alliance between all of the minor villages would a be a huge problem," Mitokado said.

While there were only five major villages—four now—there were numerous smaller villages. Each minor country had its own village, and there were around forty minor countries. Of course, minor hidden villages were generally small, consisting of anywhere between 1,000 and 10,000 ninjas at any given time. Even so, Konoha didn't boast anymore than 30,000 ninjas themselves. What's more, most of their ninja were genin and chunin. The number of ninjas who became elite jonin was small, barely 5% of the overall ninja population.

"If we are going to defeat our enemies, then we need to become strong," Danzo continued. "We cannot grow under Tsunade's reign."

"I agree," Koharu said.

Mitokado adjusted his glasses. "I assume you have a plan?"

"In one week, Tsunade will be going to meet with the other kages. Furthermore, she is taking several of her most powerful ninjas with her." Danzo tapped his cane against that ground. "That is when we will strike."

XXXXXXXXXX

Koyuki tugged Konan along with her as she walked through one of Konoha's shopping districts. While a remarkable amount of damage had been done, and several buildings had been ruined, reduced to rubble, the shopping district was relatively intact. There were still numerous stores that were open for business, vendors still stood on either side of the street, and a lot of people were still shopping around and chatting like nothing was wrong.

"People living in ninja villages are quite hardy, aren't they?" Koyuki asked as they stopped in front of a store that sold dresses.

"It comes with the territory," Konan replied in a sullen voice. "Since they live with ninja every day, they have accepted the fact that their lives could be endangered at any moment."

"I guess so. Come on."

"What? Wait!"

Koyuki didn't wait. Still holding Konan by the hand, she pulled the reluctant woman into the store with her. She spoke to the store clerk, asking if she could see the dress on the front display. When she asked what size, Koyuki needed to glance at Konan for a moment to give an accurate estimation of the other woman's proportions. After being assured that the dress would be right out, the clerk left the two of them in the shop and went into the back.

"Um, Koyuki-sama," Konan started to say.

"You can just call me Yuki," Koyuki said. "Since you and I are practically family, I would like it if you didn't stand on ceremony with me."

Konan hesitated. "… Yuki."

"Much better."

The store clerk came out from the backroom moments later with a box in hand. She apologized for making them wait as she handed Koyuki the box, and then recommended that she try it on. Of course, the box wasn't for her. It was for the one with her.

"Here you go." Koyuki placed the box in the confused Konan's hand. "Let's go to the dressing room so you can try it on."

"Um, what?—ah! Wait! Hold on!"

Konan was somehow helpless against Koyuki as the daimyo placed a hand on each of the woman's shoulders and pushed her to the back. There were a number of dressing rooms in the back. They were small, just a little section blocked off by three walls and a curtain. Koyuki pushed Konan into one of those rooms, and then closed the curtain.

"Go ahead and get changed. I'd like to see how you look in that," Koyuki said. There were several moments of silence. Koyuki waited patiently until, with a glacial slowness that made her feel like Konan was doing this reluctantly, the ruffling of clothes reached her from behind the curtain.

"I don't see why I have to change into this," Konan muttered as something thumped to the floor—her cloak, Koyuki guessed.

"Because you need more clothes to wear than just your cloak."

"I have other clothes. I just prefer the cloak."

"Then we're shopping to cheer you up."

The rustling of fabric stopped. "… You're doing this to cheer me up?"

"Of course. Naruto noticed right away that you weren't yourself. That's why he asked me to take care of you, and I figured you and I could do something fun to bond while helping bring your mood back."

"You don't even know what's bothering me," Konan countered.

"Not yet," Koyuki corrected. "Just you wait. We're going to have a blast, enjoy some female bonding, and then you're going to unload all your problems onto me so I can help you out. After all, it's a lot easier to talk to another girl about your problems than it is a guy, even if that guy happens to be someone like Naruto."

There was another pause. Koyuki inferred from the strange hesitance in Konan's countenance that she was not used to sharing things with others, and she was even less used to having a fellow female to bond with. However, in Koyuki's mind, that was all the more reason to break down the walls surrounding Konan. They were going to be sister wives. It wouldn't be good if she kept everything that was troubling her to herself.

"Have you finished changing?" Koyuki asked.

"Um… I have, but…"

"Then let's see it." Grabbing the curtain, Koyuki pulled it back and received her first look at Konan. She whistled. "You look good in that."

The dress that she had gotten Konan to change into was simple, a black dress that stopped just above her knees. Small straps hung over her slender shoulders. It was tight around her bust, which made it look like her chest might spill out at the slightest provocation, but Koyuki felt it added a sensual touch. She looked down and frowned at the plane blue ninja sandals.

"We need to find you a decent pair of shoes."

Koyuki spent nearly ten minutes finding a good pair of shoes that Konan could wear. She eventually decided on a pair of simple red slip-on's. She wanted to go with something more exotic and sexy, but Konan wasn't the type who wore shoes like that, so she decided against it. Konan, bless her heart, put up with Koyuki's antics and let herself be dressed up.

"So, we've got the dress, and we've got the shoes," Konan said, trying her best not to squirm. Koyuki, even at a glance, could tell that Konan was embarrassed. "Are we done yet?"

"Done?" Koyuki smiled. "What are you talking about? This is just the beginning!"

Konan's horrified expression couldn't have been more amusing.

What followed was a shopping extravaganza. Koyuki took Konan everywhere she could think of. They didn't just go to clothing stores; they also visited vendors and grabbed some tasty treats, went to toy stores, and played like children. While Konoha might have experienced a serious attack, that didn't mean the village or its residents stopped doing what they had always done. The wreckage could be seen wherever one walked, but the people still went about their business.

At some point during their shopping excursion, Konan had begun to smile. It wasn't a very big smile. Even so, Koyuki counted it as a victory on her part. She and Konan had never really spoken much because of their duties. She was a daimyo and Konan had been Naruto's informant about Akatsuki's movements. That she could make the former Akatsuki ninja smile was something that she considered worthwhile.

By the time Koyuki was satisfied with their shopping, they ended up buying four bags worth of clothing. She thought about going to the Namikaze's estate, but Naruto probably wasn't there yet. That was why Koyuki decided they should find a nice place to have a drink. Besides, they still hadn't talked about the most important topic.

"That looks like a good place to relax." Koyuki pointed to a small bar named The Rusty Kunai. It was a nondescript building with little in the way of embellishments. Only the sign overhead told them about what kind of place it was. "Shall we go in and have a drink before heading home?"

Konan tilted her head for a moment, her eyes peering into the distance. Then she came back into herself and nodded. "I don't mind getting something to drink."

"Great!"

They walked arm in arm into the bar. The dirt street shifted to wooden tiles, and the natural sunlight was replaced with the low lighting of oil lamps. Clunk-clunk. Their sandals thudded along the floor as they walked past several booths that were already full. It looked like a number of off-duty shinobi were in the process of drinking.

The booth they eventually sat in was located near the back, in the corner, which gave them a clear view of everyone else. There were no windows in this bar. A small oil lamp sat on the wooden surface of the table, along with a set of drink menus. When someone came up to take their order, they unilaterally decided on warm sake.

"So…" Koyuki set her elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Did you have fun?"

"I did," Konan admitted, gracing Koyuki with a grateful smile. "I had no idea shopping could be fun."

"Never underestimate the appeal for shopping," Koyuki said. "Shopping is a woman's best friend. Whenever you're feeling down, you can just grab one of your girlfriends and ask them to go shopping with you. That always makes me feel better."

"I don't really have any girlfriends," Konan said slowly.

"You have me," Koyuki replied. "And I'm sure Yugito and Mei would be happy to become your friends as well."

"That… yes, I suppose you are right." Konan said, probably remembering one of the times that all of the "Namikaze girls" had met. There hadn't been many moments like that. Since one of them was a kage, the other a daimyo, and the last one a spy. Yugito was the only one who didn't have a major role in their society, and she was a jinchurikki, so she could hardly be called normal.

The waiter soon came up, set two saucers down on the table, and placed a jar of warm sake in between them. He asked if they needed anything else. Both of them replied in the negative, and the waiter left soon after.

Koyuki grabbed the jar of sake and poured some for herself and Konan. Taking her own saucer in hand, she swirled the liquid around, and then took a sip. "This isn't bad. It's nothing like Naruto's Firebrand sake, though. Ah, what I wouldn't give for some of that sake! But I'm digressing. Why don't you tell me what's eating you?"

The table fell silent. As though she was reluctant to answer, Konan took several sips of her sake. Koyuki also drank from her saucer. She waited patiently.

"I just… feel like I should have done more to help when we were attacked," Konan said at last. "So many people died, but they didn't have to. If I had taken a more proactive role, if I'd done my job as Naruto's informant and properly gathered all the information on Zetsu, Konoha could have avoided a lot of casualties."

"Are you really going to blame yourself for not gathering enough information?" Koyuki asked. "No one is perfect, and no one expects perfection out of you. I'm sure no one blames you for what happened here."

"Tsunade-sama does," Konan mumbled.

"Are you sure you aren't projecting your own sense of failure onto Tsunade?" Koyuki shot back. "I'll be the first to admit that I don't know everything, but I also know that Tsunade isn't the type to blame someone for not being perfect."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because Naruto would never follow such a woman."

Konan jerked her head back as though she'd been slapped, her eyes blinking rapidly several times. She stared at Koyuki. It was like she was just now seeing her for the first time.

"You… you are right." Konan relaxed and looked down at her drink. "I am probably imposing my feelings of guilt onto Tsunade-sama. She never once said that she blames me. I merely made the assumption that she did because I was once part of Akatsuki." A tint of red sprang to Konan's cheeks, which she hid behind her hands. "I've gone and done something foolish, haven't I?"

"Just a bit foolish," Koyuki said, pinching her thumb and forefinger together in emphasis. She then grabbed the saucer again and filled Konan's saucer. "Now, how about we drink some more and forget about all of our troubles?"

It had been a long time since Koyuki really drank. She hadn't gotten wasted since before Naruto had saved her kingdom. It was partly because she was now the ruler of a country, but the other reason was that she didn't want Naruto to see her bad side. However, just this once, she could make an exception.

Konan's answer was to down her saucer in one go and gesture for Koyuki to refill her glass.

"I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship," Koyuki said, grinning as she poured more sake into Konan's saucer.

XXXXXXXXXX

After his meeting with Tsunade, Naruto wandered to training ground 38—the place where several wooden houses had been set up for the displaced people of Kumo. Even before he stepped onto the training ground, it was easy to locate. Several large buildings jutted from the ground. They were houses, well-built and elegant. Yamato's work, no doubt. All of Koyuki's zeppelins were also at the training ground, their floating forms attached to the ground with thick steel cables.

A lot of the civilians were standing around the buildings. Some were walking into and out of them, boxes and blankets and other necessities in their hands. A few were working on the yards, building fences, and so on. While a lot of faces were still despondent, a natural expression considering everything that had happened to them, it seemed more than few had accepted what had happened and were trying to make the best out of their situation.

It made what he came here to do all the more difficult.

Yugito and Samui were in the thick of things, doing their part to help everyone get settled in. Samui was helping a small family set up their house. She seemed to be doing a little better than before. If nothing else, there was a light in her eyes that had not been present during the trip to Konoha. Meanwhile, Yugito was giving out orders to the few ninjas who had survived Pain's attack on Kumo.

"Ma'am, it looks like there are not enough houses to fit everyone," a shinobi that Naruto didn't recognize was saying to Yugito.

Clicking her tongue as though disappointed, Yugito spent a moment thinking to herself before coming to a decision. "In that case, let's put the smaller families together for now. With luck, more houses will be built, though it could be a while, given that Konoha is currently undergoing repairs."

"Ma'am!" The shinobi, who looked quite young, saluted and hurried off to follow through with her orders.

"Yugito," he greeted.

"Oh, Naruto!" Yugito greeted him with a smile and a kiss. Naruto allowed the kiss to linger several seconds longer than was probably necessary, even though part of him felt guilty for doing so, considering what he was here for. "How did your meeting with Tsunade go?"

"Not as well as I had hoped," Naruto admitted. "Do you have some time? There's something important that I want to talk to you about."

Yugito must have sensed that he had something important to say because her entire countenance became more serious, from the way her shoulders stiffened to how her smile disappeared. She nodded once. "There's a place not far from here where you and I can talk in private. Follow me."

The place where Yugito lead him to was a small glade several kilometers away from the main area of the training ground. Trees and plants surrounded them. Animals made their music, which echoed around the pair, growing louder and softer as though every animal was part of a symphony.

There were a lot of hiding places around here, which made it easy for people to sneak upon them. That said, he didn't think there was anyone here. Naruto might not have been a great sensor without sage mode, but it wasn't like he couldn't tell when someone was spying on them.

Naruto and Yugito stood facing each other. As he peered at her expression, he noticed the tenseness in Yugito's shoulders. It was like she was preparing for the worst. Had she already deduced that what he had to say was about the refugees? Well, naturally, it would be about them. However, could she have figured out what, exactly, he was going to discuss with her?

"This is… about the people of Kumo, isn't it?"

Naruto nodded. "It seems a lot more has been going on while we were looking for survivors. Akatsuki has declared war on the remaining major villages, and Pain has gathered all of the minor villages under his banner. They've currently blocked off our trade routes, which, on top of the damage done to our village, is putting stress on our economy." Sighing as if trying to release all of his pent-up emotions, Naruto ran a hand through his hair and continued. "Tsunade said we can afford to keep everyone from Kumo here for no more than a month. After that, our economy won't allow us to let them all stay."

"I… I see." Yugito looked at the ground as a mirthless smile tugged at her lips. "I guess I should have expected something like this." Tilting her head back up, she stared at him with pleading eyes. "Please tell me there's something we can do? I don't want my people to suffer any more than they already have."

"There is something we can do," Naruto assured her. "I'm going to speak with Koyuki, while Tsunade sends letters to Gaara and Mei. Our plan is to have each nation take a number of refugees. If each of us takes on a fourth of the people rescued from Kumo, it will lessen the strain all of us have to take considerably."

Yugito remained silent. Naruto assumed she was studying the plan inside of her head, searching it for potential flaws. While she was more the attack first and never ask questions type, when it came to her people, Yugito did not allow her normal impetuousness to get the better of her. That was, in fact, the reason she hadn't chased after the shinobi who had ambushed them on their way to Konoha.

"It is a sound plan," she admitted at last. "Though I don't like the idea of splitting my people up. During hardships like this, it's important for everyone to come together as a people and help each other. We can't do that if we're separated."

"I know, and I agree," Naruto said. "I wish there was something we could do, but unless the war that's coming on the horizon ends quickly, we won't be able to support that many people new people."

"This is an unenviable situation, huh?" she said.

"Yeah…"

Silence passed through the clearing as Naruto and Yugito went into their own thoughts. None of what was happening was something that either of them wanted. They were just doing their best to deal with several bad hands. Despite all that, Naruto wanted to offer Yugito's people whatever help he could.

There has to be something I can do to help everyone. Yugito wants her people together, but that's clearly impossible with the limited amount of resources we have right now.

The problem wasn't necessarily that they lacked resources, but that they would soon. A lot of their money came from two areas: missions and trade. Big paying missions were often requested by people outside of Konoha, which meant that in order for a mission to be made, someone had to travel here and request the mission, or they could send a scroll via carrier bird. However, with their trade routes blocked, no one who didn't already live in Konoha could enter the village. What's more, it was easy to intercept a carrier bird if you knew what routes they took.

If only we could somehow bypass the roads and instantly appear wherever we want, that would solve a lot of—

Naruto paused in that thought. He rewound his thoughts several times. Could the Hiraishin be the solution to this problem? Would it be possible? Theoretically speaking, it was perfectly possible to do mass transportation via Hiriashin. The issue was a combination of chakra consumption, distance, and knowing how to use it.

Hiraishin took a lot of chakra, more than even most jonin. In fact, only someone with reserves that were on par with a kage could use it the way he and his father did. However, maybe if he set up a method of drawing chakra from nature…

"Yugi… I'm going to build Hiraishin pads."

"Huh?" The expression on Yugito's face, which could have been described as, "what the fuck are you talking about?" adequately expressed the woman's feelings.

Shaking his head, Naruto smiled. "I'm just thinking out loud. There might be a way to keep everyone connected, even if they live in different nations… but it'll probably be a while before I can make it happen."

Yugito continued to stare at him like he was an unknown entity. He guessed he couldn't blame her. Finally, she smiled and said, "well, let me know when you have it figured out."

Naruto grinned. "Will do!"

There wasn't much left for them to discuss, and Yugito still needed to help everyone get settled in, so Naruto left her and returned to his estate. He wanted to get there quickly. However, he didn't want to merely Hiraishin there. The presence of strong shinobi had a positive effect on the people, and so Naruto walked through the village, greeting the people who smiled and waved at him, speaking with the children as they ran up to him. Despite not being present during the battle, it seemed everyone still thought highly of him.

I should have been here.

It was useless regretting the past. There was no way he could change it. Jutsu could do many things, but they could not send one back in time. Even the most complicated space-time ninjutsu was not capable of changing the past. All he could do was move forward.

That didn't mean he had to like it.

Naruto returned to the Namikaze estate, entered through the front door, and took off his sandals. Two pairs of shoes were already present: a pair of blue shinobi sandals and high heels; they probably belonged to Koyuki and Konan. He wondered if their talk went well. Naruto had left Konan to Koyuki because he felt a female would have better luck understanding the mind of another woman.

After removing his shoes, Naruto went in search of Koyuki and Konan. He went through much of the house but found no trace of them. They weren't in the kitchen, the living room, the training room, the backyard, or even their individual bedrooms. That left…

Naruto opened the door to his bedroom.

He paused.

Konan and Koyuki were lying on the bed. Well, Konan was lying on the bed. Koyuki was straddling Konan's waist.

Their limbs were locked in a passionate embrace, matched only by their equally impassioned, open-mouthed kiss. Naruto stood there as Koyuki's tongue danced and coiled with Konan's. The moans they produced were a thing of music, a symphony that blessed the ear, sweeping through him like the silken caress of a lover.

Koyuki wasn't wear anything except a pair of cotton white panties. Konan still had her chest wrap, which kept her breasts from jiggling during combat, but outside of that and her underwear, a lace g-string, she wore nothing else. From the way Koyuki was cupping Konan's breast, it appeared as though she had tried to remove it at some point without success.

It took Naruto a second to reboot his mind, and in fact, it didn't happen until a loud cry from Konan echoed around the room. Koyuki had slipped one of her hands into the other woman's underwear. Even with Konan's long, lean legs, toned from decades of being a kunoichi, he could still see how the daimyo's hand teased the S-ranked ninja's entrance.

Naruto ignored the way his pants tightened for a moment and took a deep breath. "What are you two doing on my bed?"

The pair did not stop kissing, but their heads did turn partially toward him. Of course, all this did was give him a better glimpse of their tongues as they danced together, dripping with saliva. Konan's cheeks were a vibrant red, her face flushed and sweaty. Koyuki wasn't much better, but unlike her partner, she was at least capable of speech—once she managed to pry her mouth from the other woman's.

"Oh, Naru—hic—kyun," she said, grinning. "We were waiting for you to get back—hic—but we got too horny to wait."

"Um, what?"

"Come—hic!—join us." Koyuki patted the spot beside her.

Naruto thought this through in a logical manner… as logically as he could. Konan and Koyuki had been waiting for them, but they got horny and decided to start playing with each other. So, huh, that meant they had been planning on tackling him together, or just that they had been waiting for him to return home? Also, that scent hanging in the air. It was…

"You two are drunk," he declared as the slight sting of alcohol hit his olfactory senses.

"Drunker than a sk—hic!—unk," Koyuki agreed. "Now get over—hic—here."

Naruto debated on what to do for one full second. However, regardless of any arguments he had against having a threesome (they were drunk, he didn't want to take advantage of their drunkenness, etc), none of them sounded that good. It probably had something to do with there being two nearly naked women making out on his bed. He didn't know any hot-blooded male who would be able to resist that allure.

Discarding his haori, shirt, and pants, Naruto crawled onto the bed and moved until he was behind Koyuki. He pressed his chest into her front. His erection ground into her backside, causing Koyuki to release a heavenly moan and wiggle her butt against him. Naruto leaned over. He took one of her ears in his mouth and nibbled on it.

"W-wait. I have a better idea," Koyuki said suddenly.

Naruto frowned as he was pushed off her. That changed to intrigued when Koyuki slid Konan's g-string down her legs and threw the article to the floor.

"Let me prepare her for you," was all she said before leaning down between Konan's legs. Naruto only had a moment to realize what was happening before Konan's entire body tensed. Her legs closed around Koyuki's head, which made him worry about how she would survive—kunoichi had strong legs. However, she didn't seem bothered, so maybe he had nothing to worry about.

Not wanting to be left out, Naruto decided to help Koyuki. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was still behind her and had a perfectly clear view of her perfect ass. Nothing at all.

Hooking his fingers into the waistband of her panties, Naruto pulled the object down, sliding it across her legs, though he had to stop halfway because Koyuki wouldn't lift her legs. That was fine. He had perfect access like this.

He leaned forward and pressed his face against Koyuki's butt. He gave her an experimental lick. When her muffled cries reached him, he grinned and began pleasing her in earnest. Her hips shook as he teased her entrance with his tongue, but he placed his hands on either side of her butt and kept her from squirming. It was difficult reaching her clit from this angle. His tongue didn't extend that long. However, he quickly decided to extend his reach using chakra—which resulted in the woman's juices exploding in his face.

Maybe using chakra is too much…

Koyuki's hips, no longer able to stay in the air, collapsed onto the bed, which allowed Naruto a glimpse of Konan. She had lost her chest wrap. The S-ranked kunoichi was fondling her own breasts, pinching her nipples between her fingers as Koyuki teased her. The sight made him even more aroused, especially when he saw Koyuki's nose resting against the small patch of blue hair above the V of Konan's crotch.

Grabbing Koyuki's hips again, Naruto lined himself up and entered her in a single, smooth motion. Koyuki's cries of ecstasy grew louder, even while muffled. This also had the effect of making Konan cum, which he saw in the way her body shook.

He moved at a steady pace, thrusting and retracting. Koyuki was no longer able to keep going down on Konan the way she had been. She somehow managed to crawl up Konan's body, and the two women shared another passionate kiss, loud slurping and smacking noises that he could hear over the slapping of his hips as the thrust into Koyuki from behind.

At some point, Koyuki's body was unable to stay upright, and her hips fell down until they met Konan's. Naruto decided to change things up. He withdrew from Koyuki, who groaned in complaint and thrust himself inside of Konan. A muffled cry reverberated through Koyuki's mouth. He put on a steady pace before, quite suddenly, changing the pace and tempo of his thrusts. Konan's muffled moaning intensified.

Naruto reached down and cupped Koyuki. He quickly found what he was looking for and began to stimulate her with a strong but gentle rubdown. Her hips twitched and bucked. From his position, Naruto could see nothing but her back. However, hers and Konan's breasts spilled out the sides, pushed together as they were.

Because he wanted them both to get off, Naruto continued to switch between them. He changed from one to the other, never letting either one of them rest for too long. This kept them in a heightened state of ecstasy. Over and over he pushed, increasing the pace, changing his rhythm.

At some point, while he was inside of Konan, her muscles tightened around him and her insides suddenly became well lubricated. Her body spasmed several times, legs twitching, toes clenching against the bedsheet. Then she went completely slack.

Koyuki lifted her face. "She's out cold," came the announcement. "I guess she had a little too much to drink."

"Dare I ask how much you two drank?"

"Not much. I suspect Konan isn't used to drinking."

Knowing how much Koyuki could drink, he determined that they must have had upwards of fifteen jars of sake. That was enough to put anyone but someone with Tsunade's drinking caliber down for the count. He should be glad she had simply passed out.

"Naruto…" Koyuki placed her head on Konan's breasts and wiggled her butt in the air. "Make me feel good too."

Naruto knew better than to deny her. He pushed into her once more and thrust his hips. As Koyuki's loud moans resounded throughout the room, Naruto had but a single thought.

There are certainly worse ways to spend my days.

XXXXXXXXXX

A week passed in what Naruto could only consider relative peace. There was so much work that needed to be done before Tsunade, along with himself and some of Konoha's other elite jonin, left for the Land the Iron. Repairs were still being made to Konoha, the people of Kumo had barely settled in, and a relocation effort was being planned, so only about a fourth of those from Kumo would even be staying.

He had spoken with Koyuki about the relocation, and she had been on board with the idea. Unlike Konoha, whose trade routes were blocked off by all of the minor nations, the Land of Spring was an island nation and currently quite prosperous, thanks in no small part to their technology. She had even offered to take all of the refugees. Naruto had considered it, but he knew that taking over 2,000 people would be difficult, even for her.

Integrating immigrants always put a strain on a nation's economy. It cost time and money to process them through customs, register them as citizens, and do a background check to make sure they weren't harmful to society. This didn't include finding them housing, helping them get jobs, or how the original citizens would feel. Those were separate issues entirely.

That was why Naruto had suggested they split the refugees four-ways between the nations of Sand, Spring, Water, and Fire. Each nation could easily sustain around 500 new citizens without putting a serious strain on its economy. While it would mean that some people might end up being separated, it would also mean their lives would be more comfortable because they weren't having one nation stretch themselves thin to help.

Of course, this topic was one of many that would be brought up by Tsunade during the conference, which Koyuki would also take part in as the daimyo of the Land of Spring.

The entire entourage had officially been chosen. Naruto, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Maito Gai were traveling as Tsunade's guards. However, Koyuki and Yugito were also coming along with them, as was Konan. Yugito was going as a representative of the displaced people of Kumo. She was the strongest shinobi in their ranks now, so it was only natural. Konan had been added at the last minute to act as Koyuki's "bodyguard."

Naruto personally just thought Konan was coming along so Koyuki could have more fun. She had apparently enjoyed their threesome last week. It had been the first of three, and the only reason they hadn't done it more was because Naruto also spent a lot of time with Yugito. Even then, Naruto was certain that Koyuki had been getting Konan drunk and sleeping with her when he wasn't around. Several times he had discovered them exiting the same room together, hungover, and they even took baths together now.

He did think it was nice that Koyuki and Konan were getting along so well. At the same time, it seemed kind of weird to him, though he certainly wouldn't judge them for it.

The journey to the Land of Iron took five days. Fortunately, the Land of Iron was connected to the Land of Fire. There was no need to travel through another nation, which should, at least in theory, keep them from being attacked.

Tsunade's reason for choosing the Land of Iron for the Kage Summit was a simple one. The Land of Iron, known across the Elemental Nations for its powerful samurai, was a completely neutral nation. This meant there was no chance of them working for the benefit of one nation over another.

Of course, had it just been Sand, Water, Fire, and Spring, this wouldn't have mattered. However, the Tsuchikage from the Land of Earth, more specifically Iwagakure, had also been invited to this conference. Since the war between the major and minor villages affected everyone, they couldn't afford to not send the Tsuchikage an invitation.

Snow crunched under their feet as Naruto walked alongside everyone else. They hadn't been able to take a carriage, since the snow was so thick it prevented any form of wheeled transportation from moving. There weren't any trains that traveled through this way either. Also, the Land of Iron didn't have Spring Country's technology. The vehicles that were famous in Spring had barely begun to trickle down to other nations. Only the wealthy could afford them right now.

"It's pretty cold, isn't it?" Yugito asked as she walked on Naruto's left. Koyuki and Konan were walking on his other side. Behind them were Maito Gai and Kakashi, and up ahead, Tsunade and Jiraiya were trading barbs.

"This is the Land of Iron," Koyuki said. "They're well-known for their icy climate. That said…" she looked around and shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as though to keep warm. "This type of freezing temperature reminds me of how the Land of Snow used to be before we discovered my father's heat generators."

"Was it this cold?" Naruto asked. "I honestly can't remember."

Koyuki gave him a dry look. "Stop talking. You don't even look cold—or are you trying to act tough by wearing that?"

Naruto looked down at his attire. Black long-sleeved shirt with dark orange trim. Black pants. A white haori with more dark orange trim and an orange Uzumaki spiral on the back. It was basically the clothing that he always wore.

He looked back at Koyuki. "As a jinchuriki, I don't really feel the cold anymore. Yugito is wearing her normal attire as well."

"Once a jinchurikki masters using their bijuu's chakra to a certain degree, elements like cold no longer affect them," Yugito said when everyone looked at her.

"There you go." Naruto nodded as if everything was solved.

"Is it just me, or is Naruto getting a little cocky because he has a bunch of beautiful women around him?" asked Kakashi.

Maito Gai looked at the copy ninja, who continued to flip through the pages of his book. "What are you talking about, my eternal rival?"

"Oh, nothing," Kakashi muttered.

"You know I can hear you, right sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Can you?" Kakashi eye-smiled at Naruto. "How surprising."

Then he went back to reading.

"Oi! Shouldn't you guys be a little quieter?" asked Tsunade, turning her head to look back at them. There was a bit of glare on her face. A bright red vein pulsed on her forehead. "This isn't a vacation, people! Stay alert!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi, Gai, and Yugito said at the same time.

The Land of Iron was marked by a massive landmark known as Three Wolves. It was a giant mountain range that branched in three separate directions, with each mountain reminding Naruto of a head. Massive stalactites hung down from the mountains' giant overhang. They formed what could have easily been a set of gnarly teeth. Even the smaller mountains that branched out from the larger three were eerily reminiscent of a trio of tongues.

Before they could reach Three Wolves, several people walked out from behind a set of thick trees covered in snow. They were wreathed in segmented armor, which clacked together, steel ringing against steel, as they walked. Silver helms with oni horns jutted from their heads. The rest of their faces were covered in masks. Underneath the armor, a black bodysuit covered them, creaking as they moved. Each person carried two katanas, though only the one in the center wore a large fur cape. He must have been this patrol's leader.

"You are the group hailing from Konoha?" the leader asked in a rough voice muffled by his mask.

"That's right," Tsunade said. "I am Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage. With me are my bodyguards, plus a representative from Kumo, and Koyuki Kazehana, the daimyo of the Land of Spring, along with her bodyguard."

The man nodded. "We have been expecting you. Follow us. We shall take you to the meeting place."

The armored man and his group of three turned and walked off, clearly expecting them to follow. Tsunade nodded to them and began following alongside Jiraiya, who appeared completely at ease with the situation. Kakashi and Gai also started walking. Since no one seemed to be wary, Naruto and his group started walking as well.

"So, who are those people?" asked Naruto.

"I'm not surprised you don't know them, since you've never been here before." Jiraiya turned around and, walking backward, grinned at Naruto. "Those people are the Land of Iron's samurai, a group of swordsmen so fierce that all of the ninja villages have decided to leave them alone. Trust me when I say you don't want to get on their bad side."

Naruto didn't really know anything about the Land of Iron's samurai, though he had heard rumors about their strength. It was thanks to their samurai that this nation had been able to maintain its neutrality for so long.

I wonder how long they'll be able to keep it, though.

The grim thought followed Naruto all the way to the meeting place.

XXXXXXXXXX

The meeting place for the Kage Summit was located inside of Three Wolves, the strange mountains that were like three giant mouths taking chunks out of the earth. Naruto and the others were lead through a ravine between one of the mountain ranges that acted as a tongue for one of the mouths.

"Did you know there's a legend about these ravines?" asked Kakashi. "Decades ago, a shinobi army of twenty-thousand strong tried to invade the Land of Iron. They attempted to subjugate the samurai here by entering the ravine to attack the samurai stronghold. However, they were defeated and run out of the country by a force of only one-thousand men."

"I didn't know that," Naruto said.

"Neither did I," Gai admitted.

Kakashi, still reading his book, shrugged. "It's not taught at the academy. I only know about it because my father told me that story."

"I also know about that story," Jiraiya added. "The Sandaime was fond of it. He would always use it in his lectures."

"Heh, you got that right," Tsunade said with a grin.

The ravine was deep, the walk treacherous. There was no worry about them being killed. Even so, the ground was covered in a thick sleet of slippery ice-like snow. Koyuki, who had no chakra abilities to speak of, needed to hold onto Konan's arm to keep from falling.

At the end of their path, a solitary door stood, which they all walked through. As snow shifted into the hard stone floor, Naruto took a look around. The ceiling over their head was high, probably around fifty or sixty meters, and several dozen columns with simple designs stood as support pillars. Naruto looked at one of the columns, noticing the lines running through it. Those lines formed a pattern that he didn't recognize. There was a geometry to it, but he felt they were more for decoration than some form of functionality. As they walked further into the large interior, they were met by an entourage of samurai.

At the helm of the group was an older man. Long gray hair that almost reached his waist swayed as if caught in a breeze, and several bandages wrapped around his head kept the hair trapped behind him. Black eyes stared out from beneath the bandages. There were wrinkles below his eyes, making him truly look his age, which contrasted with his strong bearing. His outfit, a simple purple kimono with sandals, seemed somehow out of place on him. Naruto felt like he would have looked more at home in armor.

"Welcome, Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya of the Leaf," the old man greeted.

"Mifune," Jiraiya said with a grin. "It's been a long time. You've aged well."

"Time tests us all," Mifune said, staring at Jiraiya's missing arm. "I see you have faced your share of hardships."

"Eh. Some stuff happened." Jiraiya shrugged as though losing an arm was no big deal. "It's not like losing an arm means I've lost any of my strength! I'm still as powerful as I've ever been."

"Is that so?" Mifune said. "I'm pleased to hear that. Now then, allow me to show you to the meeting room."

Mifune turned around and walked off. Jiraiya and Tsunade followed him, but not before Tsunade gave Kakashi and Gai some orders.

"You two patrol with the samurai. Don't get in their way, but try to be supportive of their efforts while remaining conscious of your own."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the two said at the same time.

Naruto, Yugito, Koyuki, and Konan followed Tsunade and Jiraiya to the meeting place. They walked through another set of doors, which lead to an area that was… outside? No, not quite outside. Naruto looked up at the blue sky, at the snow falling, and then looked at the walls surrounding them. This place appeared to be located in a sort of crater inside of Three Wolves.

A building stood in the center of this crater. Majestic. A monolith of ancient architecture that reminded Naruto of the many palaces he had visited. Six walls blocked off the main building, a pyramidal structure sitting on a square of frozen water. The only way to reach the pyramid was from a single walkway. As he and the others crossed, Naruto looked down at the ice, wondering if there was a lake beneath all of this.

The meeting took place on the top floor, which forced Naruto and the others to ascend half a dozen floors before the narrow stairway opened into a small room. Simple decorations lined the interior. Tassels hung from the walls. A purple tapestry with kanji written on it hung between two columns embedded into the wall.

Someone else was already present.

He sat in a chair on one side of the table, which was shaped like a horseshoe, his red hair short and ruffled. Pale skin stood out starkly against his black and auburn cloak. Thick black rings formed around pale green eyes. The kanji for love was written on the left side of his forehead, just above his brow ridge, in blood-red ink.

Two people stood with him, a woman with teal eyes and blonde hair gathered into four ponytails. Gaara's other companion was a man wearing white makeup and a catsuit. Naruto easily recognized the Sabaku siblings, Gaara's older brother and sister.

"Gaara!" Naruto grinned as he bounded up to the Kazekage without ceremony.

Gaara smiled. "Naruto. It's good to see you. I see you are doing well. I heard about what happened to Konoha—" he paused upon seeing Yugito, and then nodded to her "—you both have my sympathies. Had I known what was happening, we would have sent our shinobi to help."

"I know," Naruto said. "Thanks for that." His eyes brightened. "So, how have you been? How's the kage life treating you?"

"It has been difficult," Gaara admitted, "but that has more to do with the current state that the Elemental Nations are in. Despite the hard times we're now facing, I have been enjoying life. Matsuri is going to have a kid soon."

"Matsuri…" Naruto scrunched up his face. Who was Matsuri? "Matsuri… that's, uh, the girl who had been one of your genins, right?"

"That's right," Gaara said, nodding.

"So she's having a kid, huh? Nice. Who's the father?"

"I am."

Naruto needed a moment. "Um, you are? Really? Wow, uh, congrats. That's… wait. You're going to be a father?!"

Frowning, Gaara asked, "why do you seem so shocked?"

"Because I don't remember hearing anything about this," Naruto shot back. "Does this mean you're also married? Why wasn't I invited to your wedding? I didn't even get to give you a pre-wedding prank!"

Gaara stared at Naruto for several seconds. His face was so blank that, for a moment, Naruto almost wondered if he had reverted back to how he used to be.

"There hasn't been a wedding yet," Gaara told him at last. "Matsuri and I have been engaged for about three months now. Wedding preparations were underway, but given the current crisis we're facing, we decided to hold off on actually having a wedding." Gaara paused. "I was actually hoping you would be my Best Man."

"Really?"

"Yes."

While he and Gaara were definitely friends, they hadn't spent all that much time around each other. Hearing that Gaara wanted him to be the Best Man at his wedding was shocking. At the same time, a warmth spread through his chest. This, right here, this was proof that there were people who acknowledged him, not his title, but him, Naruto. That meant a lot more than simple words could say.

"I thought I was going to be your best man!" Kankuro interrupted.

Naruto, Gaara, and Temari all looked at Kankuro.

"Kankuro, you're makeup is so thick most people would mistake you for a geisha," Temari said.

Naruto nodded. "Exactly. The position is Best Man, not Best Man in Makeup."

"You people keep insulting my war paint! How many times am I going to have to tell you this?! I don't wear makeup!"

As Naruto and Temari teased Kankuro, Mifune and a pair of bald samurai stood before the purple tapestry. Tsunade and Koyuki had sat down in their seats, which were next to each other. Konan and Jiraiya stood by them, watching Naruto as he spoke with the Sabaku siblings. Yugito was also sitting down. Her place was where the Raikage would have been sitting were he still alive. Since there was no Raikage anymore, the seat had been delegated to her.

Minutes passed and two other groups soon entered. The first was an old man who walked with a noticeable stoop. He was short, coming up to only Naruto's waist. A large mustache sat under his big red nose, and a triangular bear wiggled as he moved his mouth. Black eyes made contact with Naruto for all of two seconds, but then the older man was walking over to his seat.

The Tsuchikage…

A while back, the Tsuchikage had tried to kidnap Koyuki—tried being the keyword. It had ended in failure. Since then, Iwagakure had been quiet. Naruto hadn't heard a thing come out of them, which may or may not have been a good thing, seeing how Iwagakure was the only nation that he was wary of.

Two people were with him. Naruto thought he recognized one of them as Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter. Short black hair. Purple eyes. She wore the standard attire of an Iwa jonin. Her brown armored vest fits neatly over her reddish shirt. A black half-skirt swished as she walked, and her heeled shinobi sandals clacked against the floor. She also saw Naruto. Unlike the Tsuchikage, who remained cool, her face paled.

The other person was large like an Akamichi, had dark eyes that seemed unusually jovial, and wore a red bandana-style headband. Plump nose and large cheeks made up his most prominent facial features. Like his partner, Kurotsuchi, he wore the standard Iwa garb of a jonin. However, he also had a yellow scarf wrapped around his shoulders.

I don't have any information on that one. Naruto looked at his mentor. Jiraiya's face was blank, a mask that revealed nothing, a perfect poker face. He wondered what the man was thinking. Though I'm sure Jiraiya does.

While the Tsuchikage sat down, Kurotsuchi and the larger ninja took up guard positions on either side of him. Knowing that he needed to once more play the role of Namikaze, he bid goodbye to the Sabaku siblings, got a promise from Gaara to let him know when the wedding was going to happen and walked over to Tsunade.

Arriving only a few seconds after the Tsuchikage was the last of the four kages, Mei Terumi, whose resplendent red hair trailed down to her ankles. With her were her two attendants, Chojiro and Ao. She wore an amiable smile as she walked in. While she didn't greet him and Yugito with words, the smile she tossed them both was enough to let them know that she planned on greeting them properly when this meeting was over.

When everyone sat down, Mifune, who was now sitting behind a desk that allowed everyone to face him, coughed into his hand. "Hats off, everyone."

Those who had not already taken their hat off—Oonoki and Mei—did so immediately. When they set their hats on the table in front of them, Mifune continued.

"In response to the Godaime Hokage's request, the four remaining kages have assembled here. I am Mifune, and I will be your moderator. The Kage Summit is officially called to order."

XXXXXXXXXX

Those who were not part of the meeting, in other words, the bodyguards, were immediately sent away. Naruto and Konan stood on a small platform above the meeting room. The platform circumvented the entire room below. A curtain hid them from view, though they were able to peer at the meeting between a crack that was purposefully left there for them. They did not know where Jiraiya had gone. However, Naruto knew that the perverted old man was somewhere, probably hidden behind one of his toad ninjutsu.

"So, what exactly did you call this meeting for, Hokage?" the Tsuchikage, Oonoki, asked in a raspy, slightly high-pitched voice.

Tsunade steepled her fingers together. Since they were behind her, neither of them could see her face, but Naruto easily pictured her expression, a steely gaze that could cut through anything. That woman could put on a frightening countenance when she wanted to.

"I'm sure everyone knows this already, but Kumogakure is gone," Tsunade began with this grave proclamation. "It was destroyed by a man known as Pain, who, wielding the power of the Rinnegan, was able to destroy an entire hidden village on his own. To make matters worse, Pain has managed to rally the minor nations and has declared war on the remaining four major nations. This is a grave matter, which is why I have requested this summit."

Oonoki snorted. "Hmph! I do not see what's so grave about this. So one of the five major villages has been wiped out. It just means they let themselves become lax in the growing years of peace. And who cares if the minor villages have declared war? They are weak. It's not like they have the strength to fight against the five great nations."

"I believe you are seriously underestimating what the minor nations can do if they band together," Gaara said.

"Oh? Do tell me, Kazekage, what can a group of small nations do," Oonoki all but demanded.

Gaara did not rise to Oonoki's taunts. With a face that epitomized the term "cool as a cucumber," he laid out his argument. "There are five times the number of minor nations as there are major nations. We only number five—four, now that Kumo is gone. While individually, each minor nation is small and can't do much, together, they outnumber us by a five to one factor. What's more, the minor nations surround the four major nations, essentially cutting us off from each other. It's easy for them to disrupt trade between us. They can isolate us. They have isolated us."

"I'm not sure I understand the importance of all this." Oonoki shrugged. "Iwa doesn't trade with the major nations all that much anyway."

"Your village might not, but your nation does," Mei interrupted. "The daimyos of the Land of Water and the Land of Earth have a trade contract for silkworms. Now that the minor hidden villages have gone to war with us, we can't afford to trade with you, since doing so would mean crossing through enemy territory."

Still hiding behind the curtain, Naruto was nodding along with Mei and Gaara's argument. But even as he listened in, he kept a watch on his surroundings. He would not be surprised if something happened, if Pain or perhaps the one calling himself Madara, tried to disrupt this meeting. There was also the possibility that Oonoki or his bodyguards might do that.

Then again, maybe I'm just being paranoid.

Naruto didn't like that he knew so little about what was happening in Iwa. Since he had no information about them, he couldn't accurately predict what decisions they would make. Of course, he did recognize that Oonoki was a belligerent old man, but he was also a kage, and one did not earn that title without being both strong and intelligent.

"Do you think the Tsuchikage truly believes what he's saying?" asked Konan.

"It's hard to say." Naruto peered at Oonoki, who seemed almost uncaring and even irritated by this meeting. "He could merely be acting like a belligerent old man because that's how he is, or there could be another reason behind his actions. Perhaps he knows something that we don't, or maybe he made a deal with Pain. Without having any information on him, there's no way for me to tell you."

"It's probably a mixture of both," a voice said behind the pair.

Naruto and Konan both jumped in shock. Instincts kicked in, however, and like the S-ranked ninja they were, both of them whirled around. Naruto already had a Rasengan in both hands, and paper was peeling from Konan's skin. Thirteen different attack strategies came to Naruto in that split second.

All of them disappeared when he saw who was standing behind him.

"Whoa, you two." Jiraiya held up his hands. "No need to get violent on me."

"Ero-sennin." Naruto blinked. He took a deep breath through his nose, and then slowly released it through his mouth. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. Konan and I were this close to wasting your amputated ass."

Jiraiya laughed his words off. "The day a pair of brats can beat me is still a long way off." Calming down, his expression slowly grew less jovial, becoming more serious. "In any case, I know Oonoki a lot better than either of you. He's a stubborn old goat who's set in his ways. At the same time, he's not the kind of person who would do something to harm his village. If he's not agreeing with Tsunade, then there's a reason for it."

Naruto looked back at Oonoki, who was still arguing with the other three. In fact, he was acting even more irritable than before.

"Regardless of what all of you might think, the threat of the minor nations does not concern us," Oonoki continued. "Iwagakure has remained strong for generations, we will continue to remain strong for generations, and we will do so without the interference of other hidden villages."

"And what will happen when your country is attacked?" asked Gaara. "You might think this doesn't concern you, but Pain has declared war on all of us. He has the power to wipe out a hidden village as powerful as Kumogakure on his own. Now that he has so many nations allying with him, do you really think you can stand against him by yourself?"

"Of course we can." Oonoki sneered. "Kumo might have been weak enough to be destroyed, but my village isn't so pathetic."

"How dare you…"

Yugito's voice was but a whisper. Even so, it resounded clearly to everyone, no matter where they were. Naruto peered at her to see the woman's shoulders shaking with barely restrained emotions. She was, like Tsunade, sitting with her back mostly to him. He could only make out the barest hint of her face, but what he saw was enough to frighten him.

She looks like she's about to rip Oonoki a new asshole.

"I hope she does rip him a new asshole. At least that would be entertaining."

"You know nothing of Kumo." Yugito raised her head, glaring at Oonoki. Naruto could practically feel her hatred wafting from her in waves. "Kumogakure was the most militarized of all five major hidden villages. While Konoha was preaching peace, we were gathering and training our shinobi. While Kiri was in the middle of a civil war, we were trying to increase our power. While Iwa's military declined, and while Suna was suffering from economical issues and friction with Konoha, we were making our village strong. We had more shinobi than any other village, and we had trained them extensively not about how to make peace, but how to fight in a war."

Yugito paused. Her shoulders heaved. As he watched her, Naruto longed to go down and hold her in his arms, but he knew that he couldn't move from that spot. Besides, Yugito was strong. She didn't need him. Perhaps later, when they were alone, she would seek comfort in his arms. However, it would not come until she wanted—not needed—to be comforted.

"Our village was strong, our people were strong, yet they still lost. It wasn't because Kumogakure was weak, but because Pain is just that powerful." Yugito's voice, despite the emotions she must have surely been feeling, remained calm. "You are simply wallowing in self-indulgent ignorance because you haven't seen that power for yourself."

"Are you done?" asked Oonoki after Yugito had finished speaking. "Because if so, then we're leaving."

"What?" Tsunade asked, her tone denoting how startled she was.

"I said we're leaving." Oonoki stood up, grabbed his kage hat, and placed it back on his head. Kurotsuchi and the large man appeared behind him. "It's become clear to me that this meeting is a waste of my time. I can't believe I left my village for this…"

Everyone remained silent as, without even giving them a backward glance, Oonoki and his entourage left the room. It wasn't even the silence of a grave. It was more profound than that. Not only had Oonoki been beyond rude, but he had ignored all of the facts being pointed out to him, and then left in a fit like some kind of child. Jiraiya could claim that man was smart, but Naruto didn't know how a man like that had become the Tsuchikage.

"Well," Mei crossed her arms and huffed, "that was incredibly rude."

Gaara steepled his fingers. "True, but now that Oonoki is gone, perhaps we can have a civilized discussion."

"I was hoping to have the remaining four major hidden villages together on this." Tsunade leaned back in her seat and sighed. "But I guess that wasn't going to happen."

"Does this mean you plan on continuing this summit, even though one of the kages has left?" asked Mifune.

Tsunade looked at each kage, receiving a nod in turn. She then looked at Yugito, not a kage, but a representative to her now displaced people. The young woman, her blond hair swaying, straightened her spine and nodded.

"We do," Tsunade said, looking toward Mifune.

"Very well." Mifune nodded. "This summit will continue after a short break. Given how heated this discussion became, I believe we could do with a short interlude. Everyone, please use this time to relax."

At the announcement of a break, everyone in the room breathed a visible sigh of relief. It seemed that no one wanted to continue after such a heavy debate. Fortunately, Oonoki wouldn't be present once the summit resumed. It wasn't much, but Naruto would take whatever silver lining he could get.

Since their presence in the balconies was no longer required, Naruto and Konan, along with Jiraiya and the ninja from the other three nations, returned to the first level. Tsunade was leaning back in her seat, appearing beyond exhausted. Even from just standing next to her, Naruto could tell how much the Hokage was craving a drink. Neither Mei nor Gaara looked particularly concerned with what happened. However, Naruto was sure they felt similar stress.

"All this excitement has made me stiff," Mei said, suddenly standing to her feet. "I think I'll take a walk."

"In that case, we'll go with you," Ao said.

"No need." Mei strolled over to Yugito, grabbed her by the arm, and hauled her to her feet. She then dragged Yugito over to Naruto, latched onto his arm, turned to face everyone present, and smiled. "I already have two perfectly able bodyguards to accompany me."

Without another word, and with a stunned audience following them, Mei all but dragged Yugito and Naruto out of the summit room.

I sense a threesome in our future, Naruto thought to himself as the door behind the meeting room closed. Somehow, he couldn't find it in himself to complain.