Chapter 18

Last Time:

'He got all of that from just a look? Definitely the new sexy..' Samui thought as she watched the blond enigma walk away.

Now:

~ The Next Day ~

Naruto groaned as his alarm clock went off. 'Why, you cruel cruel bastard! Why did you rise!' Naruto mentally complained at the sun. "Wait…today's the day!" Naruto muttered as he got up, got something to eat, and got dressed. "No more D-rank missions for me!" Naruto happily muttered. He quickly cleaned up and left his bunker at the base of the mountain. "Well, better check in with the Raikage." Naruto said as he headed into the village.

~ Raikage Tower ~

Naruto smiled as he walked into the office. "Mabui-san, may I speak with the old man?" Naruto asked the secretary. "Yes, Naruto-san. He was actually about to request you." Mabui responded as she motioned towards the door. As soon as Naruto walked in, the entrance was blocked off by two ANBU and the room was sealed with a sound proofing seal. Naruto quickly unsealed his sword and put it in a reverse grip. "Naruto-san, I wonder if you can explain something to me." Naruto turned to see A sitting behind his desk.

"And what may that be, Raikage-sama?" Naruto asked with a hint of venom in his voice. A didn't bother to respond but tossed him a Bingo book. Naruto caught it and read the page it was opened to. "Naruto Romanov, B-Rank Missing Nin. Wanted for Questioning In Konoha due to Events that Led to the Disappearance of The Yondaime's First Born Son. Bounty of 250,000 yen. Warning! Responsible for overthrowing Gato of Gato Shipping. Skill Level Unknown, approach with extreme Caution." Naruto finished under his breath. "Well?" A asked in a "Don't you dare lie to me" tone of voice.

"Well, what?" Naruto shot back annoyed. "Are you responsible for the disappearance of the Yondaime's first born son?" A asked annoyed. "No, the Yondaime is responsible for the disappearance of his first born son." Naruto replied. "What do you mean?" A asked. Naruto groaned, but sat and told his about the hierarchies in Konoha and how clan heirs are selected and succeeded. "The son of a bitch disowned his kid who was unable to use chakra at the time in favor for his youngest son, the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi." Naruto finished.

"So what happened to the Yondaime's first son?" A asked, intrigued by this tale. "He found people wiling to give him a chance and to teach him. But soon, those people passed away and left him alone, so he decided to leave the village." Naruto said in a sad tone. "And how do you know this? Do you know where the son is?" A asked in a serious tone. "Yea, I know where the kid is, but there's no way in hell that I nor he will go back to Konoha." Naruto replied defiantly. "Well, where is he! Damn it, can't you see that Konoha can declare war on Kumo for this!" A asked Naruto in an enraged tone.

"You're looking at him!" Naruto yelled at A and took off his facemask, for once silencing the large Raikage. "I'm not going back to that twice damned village. They forsook me in the place of my younger brother because he had more potential. All I was to them was a broken toy. But now that I fixed myself and did something noticeable, they're hunting me down like I was a nugget of gold! Eight years, eight years since they disowned me, and now they want me back since I took down Gato shipping! That's bullshit!" Naruto said in an agitated tone.

Naruto then took off the insignia on his beret and laid it before the Raikage. "By your leave." He said, then walked away. "Naruto." No response. "Naruto!" Still nothing. "NARUTO!" Naruto turned to the Raikage to see him holding the insignia. "You are a Shinobi of Kumo, and as such I expect you to come back and take back your insignia." He stated. "I will not send you back to the village if you do not wish to go. After all, you were disowned right?" The Raikage asked. "Yes." Naruto replied in a monotone voice. "Then they have no claim over you." A finished.

"I just needed to make sure that you weren't wanted for anything dangerous, such as assassination or major arson or murder. Now go, fix your beret, and come back in 25 minutes. You and team Yugito have a very important A-rank mission soon and I need you guys to be sure you can complete it." Naruto nodded as he took the insignia, re attached it to his beret, and left the office. The Raikage was left to his thoughts until Mabui walked in.

"Something troubling you, Raikage-sama?" She asked. "Hmm? Oh, it's just this Naruto case. I mean, I heard from Yugito and her team how he managed to fight off 9 Iwa Jounins, but I personally couldn't believe it. Now I hear he took down Gato Shipping by himself? I wonder how strong he really is and how much he's hiding from us." A replied. "And then there's the Konoha thing. Are they really so pitiful to throw away someone, then want them back the minute they do something that causes a major impact?" A finished.

"Well, you know the first rule to being a Shinobi, Raikage-sama. Deception is the best weapon." Mabui remarked as she left the room.

~ Twenty Five Minutes Later ~

Naruto knocked on the wooden door of the Raikage office and waited. "Come in." A's voice shouted and he quickly made his way inside. Yugito, Samui, Karui, and Omoi were already there waiting for him. "Good, now that everyone is present, we may begin." A said as Mabui passed each of them a large file. Naruto opened it and saw a picture of w mansion seemingly built at the top of a waterfall, literally a few dozen feet separating it from the tip of the waterfall and certain death.

"Managashi mansion?" Samui asked as she saw the picture. "Correct. The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning is hosting a meeting of sorts there." A said, then after everyone was paying attention, continued. "Recently, a few villages have been having some skirmishes amongst themselves. Usually, this wouldn't be a problem, but they have begun to bring in Shinobi from foreign Nations to fight in their stead. If Kumo ninja were to interfere, we could cause an international incident." A finished.

"The Daimyo is hosting peace talks with the warring villages in an effort to resolve these problems without causing a big problem." Mabui continued. "Unfortunately, Iwa has been at odds with Kumo for a while now. The Daimyo believes they may try something during these talks in order to instigate further problems." A finished. "Your mission is to go incognito into these talks and take care of any problems." Naruto and the team nodded. "Good, you guys have half an hour to gather everything you need and meet up at the gates. From there, you guys are to head to Managashi Mansion and sign in." A ordered.

"Understood!" The team and Naruto replied in unison. "Dismissed!" A said and the team left through the window. "Damn it, use the door!" A yelled annoyed. Mabui giggled and left the office to get back to her paperwork.

~ The Bunker ~

Naruto hurriedly walked into the bunker and made his way to the armory. He quickly grabbed a sealing scroll and began grabbing supplies when Tony popped into the screen. "Wow, where's the fire?" he asked. "I have a body guard mission soon, and it's going to be a long one in a "formal" meeting." Naruto replied as he sealed kunai , shuriken, and ammo into the scroll. "I might need one of these too." Naruto thought as he put a black box into the scroll. "Here's an interesting question, is this supposed to be an under cover mission?" Tony asked.

"Yea, we're going to be there as back up to the guards. Why?" Naruto asked. "What are you going to wear? If these are peace talks, everyone is going to be dressed for the occasion. You can't go in looking like a shinobi if you're supposed to be undercover." Tony reasoned. "Shit, I forgot about that. And I have nothing to wear." Naruto groaned. "Don't worry, if I'm right, Natalya let us put some clothing here in her bunker in case things ever went bad or we needed it. Go to the back room with the lockers and open mine." Tony said.

Naruto nodded and headed there. As soon as he saw the locker labeled S. Tony, he opened it. "Oh, that's sharp.." Naruto said as he inspected the contents. He quickly sealed them into his scroll and made sure his sword and collapsible bow were sealed into his shoulder. "I think that's it." Naruto said as he took the scroll and quickly left the bunker, making sure to lock up after himself.

~ Village Gates ~

Yugito groaned as she and her team waited for Naruto in the sweltering summer heat. "Damn it, where is he!" she demanded. "He who?" a voice from behind her said. She jumped and turned to see Naruto standing behind her. "You, you idiot!" she said. "How did you even get out of the village without us noticing?" she asked. "I live in the outskirts. So is everyone ready?" Naruto asked. "Yea, we were waiting for you!" Karui replied in an annoyed tone. "Good, let's move out then." With that, the team scattered.

~ Time Skip – Managashi Mansion ~

Naruto groaned as he and his team arrived at the mansion. In all fairness, it hadn't been that far away. It was the fact that being this close to a waterfall gave him a bad feeling. He shook off his thoughts as he arrived at the check in desk. "Hello, how may I help you?" asked a skinny man behind the counter. " The Daimyo is expecting us." Naruto said. The man nodded and walked to the back. A few minutes later, he came back with a smile on his face.

"The Daimyo will see you now." The man said and escorted the team to the back office to see the Daimyo.

~ Daimyo Office ~

" Daimyo-sama, the team from Kumo here to see you." The man spoke into a room. "Good, send them in." a voice replied. Naruto and his team stepped into a richly decorated room with a large oak " Hello, welcome to Managashi Mansion. I am the Daimyo of the land of Lightning, my name is Hideko." A man of approximately 45 years of age said as he came out from behind the desk. He was dressed in the traditional Daimyo robes. As he stepped out into the field of vision, everyone bowed except Naruto.

Before anyone could tell Naruto to bow, the Daimyo stood before him. "Why do you not bow before me?" he asked. "I bow for no man. I only hold allegiance to myself." Naruto replied, making the old man smile. " I like you kid." The man said, then turned, "Onto business, please rise." He said to the rest of the ninja. "Have you been debriefed on the situation?" the Daimyo asked, getting nods in response from the ninja in his presence. "Good, there will be a party before the peace talks. You will be there and in the talks to make sure nothing happens. Attire will be provided if you do no already have something appropriate, and do dress classy. This is an important occasion." Hideko finished.

The same lanky man then walked back into the office. "Himeji will show you to your rooms to prepare. The party begins at 7:00 o'clock sharp." Hideko stated. They were all then escorted to separate rooms to get ready. Naruto walked into his room and saw a man's kimono laid out on the table. 'Yea, right.' He thought as he stripped down and went into the shower. The party was in a few hours.