Florp

Chapter 240:

HAKU

Turning to the familiar chakra leaping through the cascading rush of

water and into the little carved-out room behind the waterfall, Haku

bows as he greets a former acquaintance. "Mei-san."

Observing the empty round terra-room—absent of any light to avoid

detection—behind the oddly placed waterfall, a drenched Mei notes,

"Konoha certainly has some strange landscapes." Turning to the

beautiful boy stand in front of a cot a deathly Zabuza is resting on, a

wet Mei greets, "Haku-kun," before lamenting with an obvious sigh. "If

only you were more masculine… and straight. What a union we

could've made."

The tall, shapely woman with a large bust, thin waist, and perfect hips

steps forward like a model, wearing a mesh insert, long-sleeve blue

crop-top, bodice dress, the hem of which reaches above her knees and

is double-slitted up to her hips so her legs were not restrained even if

her mesh-legging thighs were enticingly visible. Unannounced in

foreign territory, it wouldn't make sense for her to bring her white belt

and pouch, though she still wore her white, high-heel, knee-length

sandals with shin-guards.

With fair, unblemished skin, seductive green eyes, vibrant auburn hair

down to her thighs was accented with a top-knot and short bangs

fetchingly framing her model face and covering her right eye. The

woman was the most stunning example of a seductress. A perfect

woman even the man she's in the process of murdering couldn't hate.

Smiling politely, an impassive Haku simply replies, "if only," before

quickly asserting, "before you continue, I know you came to purchase

Kubikiribōchō as a means to attract Zabuza-sama and myself to your

cause, but as you recall, we did not agree with your diplomatic

methods of rebelling against Karatachi Yagura then, and nothing has

changed now."

"As I recall, Zabuza-san is the one who didn't agree with my methods,"

Mei reminds him. "You merely followed him."

"Correct," Haku doesn't disagree. "I empathize with your situation, with

all of Hidden Mist, however, my stance has not changed any more than

Zabuza-sama's directive dictates. I only follow Zabuza-sama… and

most recently, Naruto-sama."

"Traveling from Kiri," Mei begins, looking over the vials and materials

Haku is employing to nurse Zabuza. "I simply couldn't believe Chōjūrō-

kun when he alerted me of Kubikiribōchō. It would certainly be

beneficial to have the executioner's in our forces, however, it was

difficult to imagine just how it came to be on the black market without

the Demon's demise. For surely Momochi Zabuza would not part with

Kubikiribōchō unless it was taken upon his death." Turning to Zabuza

and impassively observing his prone, yet muscular form, Mei adds,

"when I came upon him on our journey here, he, naturally, wouldn't

confess to me what had happened no matter how much I asked.

Honestly, Haku-kun, I don't know how you travel with such a sourpuss."

"With fulfillment and joy," Haku answers.

Shaking her head with clear remorse, Mei sadly states, "why are all the

honest and loyal ones taken… or gay?"

"I'm trying to sleep," Zabuza gravely informs them.

"Such a sourpuss," Mei sighs, closing her eyes on the slender man like

closing a disappointing book. "After witnessing his fight with the blond,

Uzumaki-kun, it's understandable why Kubikiribōchō became available.

For quite a young shinobi, he's certainly strong. It's understandable

why you would follow him, Haku-kun."

Walking back to the water-rushing mouth of the room, Mei turns and

addresses them of the loud waterfall. "I want you both to be apart of

this movement I'm gathering: to unite the villages and rebuild

diplomatic relations within Kiri and all the other nations. Zabuza-san,

Haku-kun, help me end this reign of chaos and murder behind Yagura's

leadership. Align your strengths to our mutual cause and to start," her

piercing green eyes lock on Zabuza as she promises, "I will make

certain Kubikiribōchō is back in your possession." Turning to Haku, the

beautiful enchantress continues, "when our new, peaceful reign begins,

Zabuza-san will have a place in my government, which also means you

will finally have a home as well."

"I already have a home," Haku claims.

"It's not Konoha," Mei assures him. "I'd be surprised if you weren't

currently being monitored in some way for the first year of your life

here, to make certain you're not a spy or saboteur. At this very

moment, the owner of that weapon shop is reporting the Demon of

Hidden Mist nearly killed him, your known associate, Haku-kun. I

imagine you know this, which is why you brought him here instead of

the home you reside in. I understand you care about Uzumaki-kun,

however, he is a Konohagakure shinobi, thus unable to assist you

when they come for you. And they will come."

Zabuza's scratchy voice asks, "that it? I thought you were going to say

something worth a damn."

"I can secure passage out of Konoha right now," Mei continues, not

bothered by Zabuza's aggression. "Ōyashiro has a safe-site nearby

that you both can hide in until Zabuza-san is well again. In the

meantime, I'll recover Kubikiribōchō. Then we can take our country

back from the bloody clutches of a tyrannical Kage."

Haku turns to Zabuza, ready to accept any decision he declares. Being

Zabuza's weapon for so many years, assisting him, watching him,

healing him, Haku knows everything about the wonderful man.

Regardless of how brash he would like to be, Haku knows him, so

when the deathly pale-skinned man grumbles, the beautiful boy

realizes Zabuza's train of thought is running against his own interests.

It makes Haku smile fondly and it's no surprise when Zabuza states, "I

work for the kid now. I'll stay at the black-site, but if you want my sword,

the kid has to sign off on it."

"I didn't explain myself earlier, Mei-san," Haku happily begins to explain

to the captivating woman with the most seductive poker face. "When I

said, 'I have a home,' I didn't mean a place; I meant Zabuza-sama and

Naruto-sama. They are my home." Haku then admits to the seductress,

"Zabuza-sama has tasked me to make Naruto-sama's dream come

true and I have every intention of sacrificing my life for his, if need be,

in order to make his dream a reality."

"And what is the dream of such a captivating boy," Mei slowly asks,

momentarily making Haku alert. Mei-san may be very civil and fair, but

like Zabuza-sama, she graduated Kiri's academy by murdering all the

other potential ninjas in her class, and with her lineage, has only grown

stronger since then. Zabuza-sama himself had once admitted the

stunning kunoichi was born with the potential to surpass any within

their nation and possibly without.

It almost unnerves Haku to be peered at by Mei's sharp green eye and

he cautiously answers, "though Naruto-sama might say, 'to be the

greatest Hokage in existence,' such a dream is too small for his

potential."

"I'm intrigued," Mei voices with a wicked grin she somehow manages to

make charming. In front of such a devastating allure, Haku is grateful

to be immune to her spell. "Then what would you claim his potential is

capable of?"

"His is the strength of unity upon the world," Haku voices, though

primarily to himself to affirm the truth within his heart. Focusing his

chocolate eyes on a sharp green one, Haku simply states, "to unite the

five nations."

"Mmmm," Mei hums, her smile growing wider. "Such a man… perhaps

it would be in all our interests if I simply persuade Uzumaki-kun to join

our cause."

A sudden wave of panic rushes through Haku, who quickly implores,

"I'd appreciate it if you did not attempt to marry him."

Chapter 241: The Monster Study

MABUI

Mabui's first impression upon reading the Raikage's classified report

was disgust, horror, and a mixture of overwhelming protection and

sympathy. The team she was assigned to left Kumo promptly after her

first read-through; leading to a cordial Mabui to observe her team lead

and her fellow Chūnin throughout their entire travel. The second time

she read the report, their team was waiting in the designated area

within the forest to enter Konoha under Ōyashiro-san's credentials as

an authorized out-of-country merchant and Mabui could barely

reconcile how such obvious villainy would go unpunished, going so far

as to even question the yondaime's judgment toward the Nosekai clan.

After entering the village and settling in her shared bedroom within

their safe-site, Mabui decides to read the report once again while her

team lead and Ōyashiro-san meet the contact in possession of

Kubikiribōchō. Adding chakra to her finger, Mabui presses one of thirty

seals on her storage clipboard, popping into existence the classified

missive she was given. She reads the cover page…

Mabui,

As I explained before your departure, purchasing Kubikiribōchō for Bee

is a secondary objective. Bee already has many weapons. Below is

what I, as your Raikage, need from you. First, Dodai's incident report

you requested, unsealed and unredacted.

Your Yondaime Raikage, A.

Mabui then turns to the heartbreaking summary page…

CONFIDENTIAL REPORT.

ISSUING AUTHORITY: KAGE

Primary Investigator:

Tsuyoi Dodai, Jōnin, Special Attendant to the Raikage of Kumogakure.

Subject:

Investigation Report issued by Yondaime-sama on Senseis and

contractors Nosekai Kōrudo and Nosekai Hotto, of the Nosekai Clan,

and their behavioral experiment hereby dubbed, The Monster Study for

wildly unethical practices.

Summary:

Seventeen years ago, married scientists Nosekai Kōrudo and Nosekai

Hotto from Kumo's University were commissioned by the Sandaime

Raikage to experiment on the importance of positive reinforcement for

the development of a healthy self. The pair of scientists and their team

selected 20 eight-year-old orphans and split them randomly into two

groups. The goal of the study was to research treatment methods to

better assist traumatized youths from war-torn villages, and as the

architects of this study, all experiments and conclusions were

conceived by the Nosekais.

Though the Nosekais were parents as well, they were scientists first

and included their children in the study. Each of the two groups had

eleven children in it, however, like their daughter, Samui(8), both

groups had children with some form of speech impediment; a stutter,

mutism, hesitancy, or any irregularity with self-expression. Both groups

were given tasks to complete and how they were treated during and

proceeding the tasks was supposed to yield clinical results.

The group with the Nosekai's daughter, referred to as the Cold Group,

were belittled for every little mistake they made in the process of a

task. These children were constantly chastised by the Nosekais and

their staff, and even the children in this group who didn't have speech

impediments started to develop stutters and selective muteness as a

result of all the negative conditioning.

The group the Nosekais placed their son, Atsui(7), in, referred to as the

Hot Group, received positive affirmation throughout and the progress in

all their tasks was publicly highlighted and complimented every step of

the way. This greatly affected their confidence and even children with

stutters began to speak freely and more fluently. Children in the Hot

Group performed admirably under positive affirmation and participated

regularly and enthusiastically.

There was a point in the experiment when the psychological therapy

was scheduled to be reversed and the children from Cold Group—who

were constantly belittled—were supposed to begin gaining praise and

attention for their work on a task. Likewise, the Hot Group—who were

always praised regardless of performance—were supposed to receive

the opposite conditioning. However, the Nosekai's could not bring

themselves to hamper their son's clear confidence. Placing their hope

for the future on their son, they decided to continue the study as is.

Sadly, not all the tasks were of a simple nature such as shape and

number recognition, but behavioral training. Of the seventeen tasks

that the twenty-two children were made to take part in, there are seven

tasks in total that can be considered highly unethical. I've highlighted

three of the worst tasks each group was forced to perform in the

summary below.

Task: Obedience.

The objective was obedience to authority despite the immorality of

orders. The task asked the children to sit in front of a machine that

raises the voltage of an electric chair. A prisoner from Kumo's prison

system is placed in the electric chair and the authoritative figure—

usually the Nosekais—would ask the prisoners interrogative questions

with controlled wrong answers. When the prisoner naturally answered

questions incorrectly, the interrogator would administer shocks through

the machine and to the electric chair.

As stated, the questions were not meant to be answered correctly and

the Nosekais asked the children to increase the voltage of the shock

after each question was incorrectly answered. Despite the horrifying

screams of the tortured human sitting not more than two feet from

them, the Cold Group children would be chastised harshly if they

expressed any form of conscience objection, asked moral questions,

cried, or defied the authority figure of said command in any way. In

stark contrast, the Hot Group was praised for the very same objections.

Complete report on page 6.

Task: Midnight Climax.

The Nosekais took both Cold and Hot groups to the nearby brothel,

Midnight Climax, where they were ordered to administer drugs to

recently 'acquired' defiant and resistant prostitutes near their age to

make them more compliant. The task was designed to mimic field

decisions under deplorable and inhumane conditions. Samui(9) and

the Cold Group were scolded or reprimanded at the slightest concern

for the adolescent or teenage female's declining health or tearful pleas,

while Atsui(8) and the Hot Group were commended and applauded

regardless if they dosed the young prostitutes or not. Complete report

on page 11.

Task: Facial Expression.

The Nosekais were curious to see if all the children in their study would

make the same facial expressions as a response to the same stimulus.

Rather than trusting the subjects to make the facial expression upon

command, they decided to induce the expressions of pain, disgust,

fear, sadness, and various other negative emotions from authentic

actions. The young subjects would be made to submerge their entire

arm inside buckets brimming with disgusting content such as feces,

vomit, or roaches. They would receive electric shocks, or worst yet,

given a puppy they would then have to behead with their bare hands.

Young as they were, it was unlikely that any of them had the arm

strength to remove a skull from its spine, so when Samui(10) and the

other children in Cold Group couldn't or wouldn't behead the innocent

animal, they would be scolded and criticized tyrannically for their

"failure," then made to watch as the Nosekais removed the head of the

animal in front of them. Atsui(9) and the Hot Group were complimented

and applauded whether they attempted to behead the animal or not;

most did try. Complete report on page 18.

The Tasks beyond this summary are arranged in order of date

performed. The remaining four unethical tasks are detailed at length on

pages 2, 5, 14, and 21.

Chapter 242:

Conclusion:

What started as a method to aid traumatized children with speech

impairments became something twisted and grotesque as only the

worst of mankind is capable of. Not long after the Sandaime's heroic

end and the Raikage's ceremonial cap changed heads, the Nosekais

presented their study's findings to the new A-sama for continued

military funding. Disgusted to learn what had transpired under his

father's command, Yondaime-sama immediately halted the program.

Due to the Nosekai clan's substantial power, popularity, and influence

within Kumogakure, they had not faced any legal ramifications over the

considerable mental abuse of the orphans or their children. In order to

keep Samui(11) and Atsui(10) away from their parent's notable field of

influence, Yondaime-sama ordered Samui to be enrolled in the

intelligence-gathering program of the military with an eventual major in

seduction training while Atsui was enrolled in the Special Forces

program with a focus on field command and operations.

Though Samui's beauty was acutely apparent at a young age and Atsui

showed great confidence in himself as a leader, they both completely

failed these programs within two years. As a direct result of their

traumatic experiences, a quiet and reserved Samui(13) could not

produce the necessary facial expressions, or even emotions, required

to properly seduce and manipulate prospective targets. Atsui(12) was

overconfident to the point of arrogance; overstating his skills and

abilities, underestimating the complexity of a problem, and becoming

ignorant of any need for self-improvement.

Under Tsuyoi Dodai's recommendation, Samui(14) was enrolled in

Special Forces, and though beginning behind all the students in the

program, she unexpectedly thrived. To our excitement, she was a

natural talent greater than all of her classmates, and in the following six

years, she consistently advanced from academy student to that of

Jōnin. Atsui(13) rejected enrollment in intelligence gathering, viewing

the recommendation as beneath him, and was relocated to the infantry

forces. Though he's taken the Jōnin's exam four times, he's failed

every time and remains a Chūnin.

Your Directive:

In the fifteen years after The Monster Study's conclusion, the siblings

have improved to varying degrees, however, they continue to struggle

mentally. While exceptionally talented, Samui does not speak more

than to communicate only the most vital of instructions, often confusing

her less than exemplary subordinates. Atsui's overconfidence is a

detriment to himself and his teammates.

Mabui, you are my best Operations Manager, and to the benefit of our

village, we function efficiently together. You are aware I do not want to

reassign you, however, you have a background in psychological and

behavioral science. In addition to your task of approving the funds for

Kubikiribōchō, you're in an opportune position to assist them. If you're

able to help, Samui in particular, I will allow you to take the Jōnin's

exam and approve any assignment you desire.

Gratitude,

Yondaime Raikage, A.

Rolling up her Raikage's classified missive, Mabui is sickened, yet

again, and near to tears. With a chakra-covered finger, she seals the

report Dodai had given her in her elaborate storage clipboard before

rubbing the excessive moisture from the corner of her sea-green eyes.

This makes the third time she's read the report, and with it, her feelings

of inadequacy have all but disappeared. At twenty-six, Mabui is a

Chūnin still hoping, like many in her rank, to become Jōnin, while a

twenty-five-year-old Samui had become Jōnin when she was twenty.

Beautiful, confident, talented, intelligent, younger…

'How could one person be so fortunate,' Mabui recalls thinking when

they first met to take part in this mission. Part of her extinguished

jealousy extended from the fact that this young beautiful Jōnin worked

closely with Dodai-san, the Raikage, and specifically, Darui-san.

Traversing the tallest tower of their village for one thing or another,

Mabui is often forced to hear how well Darui and Samui work together

as well as hopes they might one day become an item.

Despite Darui's assurances, Mabui naturally couldn't help but feel

inferior when compared to such a perfect kunoichi. In spite of Samui's

established family, her beauty, and her popularity among the men in

the village, the gorgeous blond's stoic and off-putting appearance has

not earned her any friends among the kunoichi in the locker rooms. To

learn it's only because no one understands what she's gone through

brings up an incredible amount of guilt and empathy within Mabui.

'Little did I know,' she mentally chastises herself as she stares at her

gray clipboard. 'The Monster Study… fucking awful!'

With her background in psychology, Mabui is acutely able to

comprehend Samui's quiet, traumatized persona to a painful degree as

well as the days-upon-years she must've suffered since then. She

knows childhood trauma often result in severe and long-lasting effect,

and if it remains unresolved, that emotional and psychological

disturbance carries over into adulthood, keeping a person from making

meaningful connections with others. To know Samui isn't truly capable

of interacting with others to the standard of social convention disgusts

Mabui to her core and Mabui vows to help her.

The Monster Study also explains why Atsui will not stop flirting with

her. To her great annoyance, she has to force herself to be patient with

an overbearing man who can't understand 'no' is an answer. Any

general greeting or kind rejection from her only seems to motivate his

delusion of them as a couple; as if she's simply playing coy and hard to

get. It leads her to wonder if it's even possible for her to help him. It's

clear to her, Atsui needs a strong male figure he respects to guide his

behavior.

Despite Atsui's behavior, her position as Kumogakure's Chief

Operational Manager does align well with this mission and her

personal goals. On top of closely engaging with Samui and Atsui, she's

intimately familiar with Kumo's finances and operations. Killer Bee may

want Kubikiribōchō, and A may want to gift him the legendary

executioner's blade, but neither of the bulls spare a second thought to

the financial balance sheets. Samui is the team's leader and Mabui is

in charge of approving the sale on behalf of the Raikage.

Noting the time, Mabui wonders if she should come clean to her blond

team leader about her personal reason for joining this mission.

Opening her intricately organized storage clipboard, Mabui's chakra-

covered finger unseals the very personal reason for her interest in

joining this mission. Overlooking six pages of complex Fūinjutsu, the

silver-haired kunoichi is hopeful she'll be able to decipher the Heavenly

Transfer Technique with the help of one of Konoha's manuals on

Fūinjutsu.

Wearing a black, knee-length skirt with a narrow cut at the waist and a

high-collard, light-gray, long-sleeved dress shirt, a stylish Mabui files

her sheets of Fūinjutsu in her clipboard. Recalling the platform she had

received with the ancient texts of the Tensō no Jutsu, she hasn't had

much luck decrypting the older Fūin characters. Mabui then secures

her silky silver mane in a tight bun, though, allowing long bangs to

frame either side of her beguiling tan face before she exits her room.

Upon which, the tall and shoulder-broad Atsui immediately steps right

in front of her, ignorant of how deeply he's invading her personal space

and smirking perversely. Her nostrils are filled with his musk as Atsui's

square jaw grins, brashly voicing his urges.

Chapter 243:

"Looking scorching hot today, as usual," he says, his gaze plainly

lingering on her shapely form as she sneaks around and away from

him. "You're going to burn my eyes if you keep dressing this sexy," he

adds moving close to her retreating form.

"Atsui-kun," Mabui calmly tells him, putting her hand out to halt him.

"You're being inappropriate again." With sufficient distance between

them, she continues, "remember, this unwanted—unwanted—sexual

advancement that I don't want… I don't want… Please, stop."

"Kami be good," he happily hums. "It's the hottest thing in the world

when you play hard to get," fondly expresses and Mabui has to take a

deep breath to keep from hitting him.

Rather than encouraging that misbehavior by disapproving it, Mabui

explains in a direct and clipped tone, "I need to survey the security of

the library. I'll be back before dinner."

"Actually, we'll be back before dinner," Atsui corrects before adding

with a shrug, "or not. We could do something else—something hot and

sweaty—just the two of us," he suggests, obviously ogling at her fit, yet

curvaceous hips in her formal and form-fitted attire. She isn't dressed

scandalously or showing much skin, however, she's quite aware of the

secretary fantasy many men have. Her fiance had admitted as much.

"Again," Mabui tries, ignoring how offended she feels while raising her

clipboard to cover her large breasts. "Atsui-kun, listen to my words. I do

not want to date you. I do not want to sleep with you. I don't ever want

to marry you. I can't stress any of those points enough."

"Don't worry, my little hot-pocket," he confidently grins, and Mabui's

shoulder tightens, her arm flexes, and her hand clenches into a fist

ready to dislocate his smug square jaw. She just manages to withhold

her reactionary attack as he adds, "even though you're older, my

parents approve and they're going to take good care of us. We'll live

like royalty and all they want is at least four grandchildren, but I'm sure

we can hit six as long as you keep that scorching figure of yours."

Inhaling deeply for as much air as patience, her eerie voice tries, "…

Atsui-kun…" then stagnates is sheer disbelief.

"Yeah, Hot-Stuff," he suavely responds taking a long stride closer to

her.

Rather than continue to point out what he doesn't seem to grasp,

Mabui tries another tactic. Taking a step back, she patiently asks, "if

you spoke that way to your mother, would she approve?"

Aghast, he responds, "she's my mom," as if the notion sickens him. "I'd

never say that to her. She's fat, ugly, and weak."

"How about your father," Mabui asks, ignoring his odd choice of

defense.

"Are you nuts," he winces, looking at her with clear confusion. "Why

would I ever say that to my dad… unless, how kinky are you? I've

heard some stories, like daddy-issues-"

"Atsui-kun!" she yells, netting his attention. "The point is, there are

reasons why you wouldn't speak that way to your parents. Did you

know that there are also reasons why you shouldn't speak that way to

me?"

Looking at her with squinted eyes, evidently unable to grasp her

meaning as he asks, "uh, that a trick question? Obviously, it's different

when two sexy-ass people are in love."

"No, it isn't," Mabui voices painfully patient. "We're not in love, we

won't ever be, and I don't want you to speak that way to me because

you're hurting my feelings."

Smirking, Atsui waves aside her assertion as he gripes, "come on, hot-

cake-"

"ATSUI-KUN," the silver-haired beauty blares, adding just as loudly,

"when you don't listen to me, you hurt my feelings!" In the small room,

her voice easily reverberates, however, an authoritative voice

subconsciously assists in regulating rebellious instincts for subjugating

responses. Like the sharp cry of a predator, her loud voice cuts through

him as she yells, "I feel sad being around you-"

"Yo, wait, babe," he tries, attempting to calm her down with open

palms. "There's no need to feel like that. I got it. I can listen."

"Good," Mabui quickly asserts. "First, when you talk to me, pretend

you're talking to your father. If you make me sad again, I will stop

speaking to you. Understand?" She can tell by his quirking eye he's

trying to keep up and so she stomps the ground and asks hurriedly

again, "do you understand? Do you understand? Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes-"

"Good," she interjects, not giving him the chance to revert to his

comfortable way of being. "Second, I don't need you to babysit me. We

may be in a foreign country but I can take care of myself."

Standing straighter, Atsui replies, "listen, babe- Uh, look, sis ordered

me to be your bodyguard, so, wherever you go, I go."

Knowing full well she can't disregard that directive, Mabui continues,

"as I said, I'm going to the village's library to gather intel on their

security. If you must come, you absolutely cannot draw attention to

yourself."

Pressing his lips to a line as he shakes his head in disbelief, flowing his

long straw-colored hair. Smacking his chest with his palm, he

reassures her, "I think I know how to infiltrate a stupid library."

It would appear Atsui does not know how to infiltrate a Fūinjutsu

protected library. Mabui stayed clear of Atsui as he tripped the alarm

attempting to enter the building from the roof. Fortunately, his blunder

gave her a clearer indication of how complex the security is and how

fast Konoha's Chūnin respond as they chase after a fleeing, and

thankfully, disguised Atsui. With Atsui's unintentional help, Mabui

reasoned the best flaw to exploit is the human factor.

It didn't take the sexy secretary more than forty minutes to locate the

most bored and easily aroused Chūnin, pretend to be a ditzy kunoichi

who sheepishly forgot the protocol to enter the library, effortlessly

manipulating the aroused young man into giving her access up to

Chūnin level knowledge, and gather a few scrolls to begin reading.

Though she's aware, the Chūnin level material is unlikely to assist her,

she still needs to verify as much and makes plans to recon a few more

days before securing Jōnin level clearance.

Mabui made mental notes of every person she observed in the library

as she arranged the study the material in front of her. Sat at a table

near the quiet Fūinjutsu section, the eight men and women at their

personal tables were the typical studious type; silent with heavy

prescription glasses and hyper-focused attention. Even in her form-

fitting mode of dress, the few around were all focused on their work

rather than her, which spoke to either a lack of awareness or their work

mattered more than the possibility of infiltration.

Chapter 244:

After multiple degrees as an academic and commendations as a

soldier, organization and efficiency have been the key to Mabui's

success. She may be a Chūnin like a grand majority of Kumo's military

might, but, her pay grade has been the fastest climb out of anyone in

her rank. With every goal she sets for herself, her very first step is

creating a point-by-point plan beginning with a visual conception of the

goal. She needs to identify the scope of the goal and break it down into

manageable pieces. She then categorizes each objective by level of

importance according to a basic study template and then outlines a

timeline template—from concept to promotion—by which she will

complete each objective.

It's how Mabui decided to leave her destitute village and apathetic

parents as a little girl or how she worked to her first degree as a

sociologist and then her second degree as a psychiatrist. If it wasn't for

the death of her fiance and former professor, she would've continued

her life as an academic. Even still, after joining Kumo's military might,

her organization was second to none and when it was eventually

discovered that it was her ideas that were radically improving efficiency

and effectiveness, Dodai-san immediately promoted her.

Organizing her scrolls, writing utensils, references, examples, the key

material she'll be attempting to decipher, Mabui can't help but wonder if

she may have been too enthusiastic when accepting A-sama's offer to

be his Chief Operations Management officer. The position, while

appreciated, meant that she reached her ceiling, and that simply made

no sense for someone as ambitious as herself. Though she's happy to

have met Darui, the listless man was as content to be with her as not,

generally depressing her self-esteem every time she thought about

how little interest he seemed to have for her.

Lifting her fountain pen to begin the next stage of her goal toward

Jōnin, Mabui's highly organized mind fully commits to the task at hand,

and to her surprise, the information in the manuals appear to be

leading her in the right direction. Noting the similar characters and their

page number in her reference sheet, it's clear it'll take her quite some

time to locate the modern characters that may be connected to her

duplicated pages before reverse-engineering the ancient Fūinjutsu's

meaning.

"Ooooh, that looks interesting," a voice in the path beside her table

states.

Destructively breaking her out of her focused mind, a shocked Mabui

quickly sits up, bumping and shaking the desk as she narrows her

sharp green sight on a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy wearing a horribly

bright orange two-piece jumpsuit. He was staring at the complicated

Fūin scribed in her example stack closer to the right of the study desk,

and to her grand surprise, he tilts his head as he reads, "Tensō… no

Jutsu. Heavenly Transfer? What's it transfer?"

Like a girl discovering her boyfriend reading her diary, Mabui roughly

drags all the sheets toward her ample bosom, stopping the startled boy

from reading any further. Embarrassed by her frantic reaction, Mabui

didn't even know where to start, simply sounding out, "How- I- You."

"Oh," the boy calls apologetically, taking a step away from her desk. He

smacks his head with regret as he sheepishly explains, "my bad, nee-

san. I was just passing by and saw you had the book I was waiting for.

I spotted a bit of what you're working on, but I promise I wasn't trying to

be nosy. Sorry," he voices before turning away to leave.

"Wait," Mabui calls and immediately is shushed by the few nearby.

Getting up to move closer to him, she notices a few glaring at the blond

as he turns to her. Whispering, she asks, "you can read this?"

"Uh, some of it," the boy answers. "It's a little wonky… or old," he adds

and it's very rare for Mabui to be genuinely dumbfounded. Her fiance

was the only man who could do that and his intellect made sense given

his decades of experience. The blond-haired boy in front of her couldn't

be more than sixteen or seventeen years of age, likely a genin, and

yet, he read the title that took her a solid two weeks to translate with a

single glance.

"See ya," he brightly calls before turning away.

"Wait," Mabui calls again, and again is shushed with a loud,

"SHHHHH!"

Bowing slightly in apology to those she's interrupted, Mabui whispers to

the blond, "can we speak?" Looking around she spots a nearby aisle

that led to some of the more intermediary Fūinjutsu. Curious about the

potential here, she points and voices "over there?"

"Um, I was on my way out," Naruto mumbles with a hum. "Will it take

long?"

Taking his warm hand in both of hers she gives him a nice squeeze

and sweetly assures him, "it won't. Please?"

"Okay," he smiles brightly, before adding, "but I have to head to my

sensei's after so I can't stay long."

"I understand," she nods, wondering about his warm hand while

simultaneously appreciating a diligent bond between student and

sensei. With thoughts of her deceased sensei and fiance, she

mentions, "I wouldn't want to keep you from your sensei." After sealing

her pages in her clipboard, Mabui and the blond conundrum walk over

to the empty aisles of the more secluded Fūinjutsu section. Certain of

privacy between the tall stacks of tomes or scrolls, Mabui begins with a

simple query. "I'm curious, do you by chance study the discipline

Fūinjutsu?"

"Yeah," the boy easily responds, looking around the many books with a

familiarity she was hoping for.

Mabui grabs a random book and opens it up to a framework she hardly

recognizes before showing it to him and asking, "is this something you

can understand?"

"Mmm, that's a detection array for general-purpose Fūin schemes," he

effortlessly answers after a glance. "The jutsu executed depends on

the functionality of the arrangement. This tests that- well, it's one of

many tests for that," and judges it as, "super basic stuff."

Amazed, Mabui looks around for a more complicated book. Grabbing

the nearest one, she flips toward the end to a section she has no clue

what it means. Showing it to him, she asks, "and this?"

After a glance, the blond immediately answers, "that's a section of a

kinetic feedback array. It's a little tricky to write out but it allows

anything with chakra access to produce a defined kinetic motion. In this

case…" he pauses a moment to look at the specific section of the

complicated seal, before finishing, "vibration."

Chapter 245:

"Amazing," Mabui softly gasps, wondering if he's accurate or mistaken.

"And, earlier, when you glimpsed the jutsu I was working on. You

weren't confused by what you read?"

Tilting his head in obvious thought, he answers, "mnn, like I said, it's a

bit wonky, but not really."

"Wonky," Mabui cautiously repeats. After a solid week of attempting to

translate the item and scroll she inherited, she realized that it was an

old jutsu that used outdated Fūin seals. Curious for his, apparently,

prodigious understanding of Fūinjutsu, she asks, "can you elaborate?"

"Hmm, like it looked familiar but different at the same time," he

responds.

"And you weren't confused," she repeats before quickly explaining, "I'm

only curious due to the numerous reasons why Fūin characters are a

challenge to understand; mostly due to the difference between heuristic

human reasoning and the starkly literal nature of Fūinjutsu

instructions." Feeling excited about discovering this boy, Mabui

continues, "some studies highlight one reason, in particular, is

practitioners tend to misunderstand arrangement, meaning the

characters seem like they should be doing one thing, when in fact

they're actually doing something else."

"Uh, I guess," he says with a shrug. "I've never had that problem. I just

sort of understand it, like how people see a picture and know what it

is."

Growing more intrigued, Mabui asks, "are you the most advanced in

your class?"

"I don't have a class," he admits. "Only a hand-full of people even know

I study Fūinjutsu, and they don't get it, so I don't really talk about it."

Applying a moderate amount of appeal to her mannerism, Mabui

sweetly asks, "would you be interested in talking to me about it?"

"Really," he asks, his eyes rounding like a warm sunny day.

"Yes, very much. I've been studying it for a few years now," she lies.

Having only started studying Fūinjutsu when she inherited the platform

and scroll from her deceased parents three months ago. Acting cute in

her embarrassment, she adds, "and to be honest, it's still quite

challenging."

"It's so easy though," he embellishes with amusement.

"It sounds as if you have a gift for it," she denotes with a smile. Leaning

in a little with a hint of seduction to go along with her inviting question.

"Would you, by chance, be interested in meeting me tomorrow? I'd love

to learn more."

"Really?" he genuinely seems to ask, as if it's the first time anyone's

taken any interest in him. "Sure!"

"Wonderful," Mabui calls, straightening her posture. "And if you have

any advanced scrolls or books, I'd love to see them."

"I do have some good stuff," he assures her with a smirk. "We can talk

about array designs- Oh! Maybe some of the more inventive stuff, like

creating dimensional pockets, or contracts with super-strong summons

from other realms, or even, wicked stuff like manipulating space-time."

Mabui's elegant face was a fixture of delight, however, internally, she

was stricken by how confused and out-of-place she felt. She wanted to

understand what the ancient platform and matching scroll the last of

her family left her are, as well as how this unique jutsu might help her

attain the rank of Jōnin, but this eager young man is talking about

creating pocket dimensions, summoning contracts, and manipulating

space-time as if it was some casual thing.

'…this boy might be a prodigy,' her mind reasons. Only when the boy

hurries off to meet his sensei did she realize she was too distracted to

introduce herself or learn his name. 'No matter. I'll see him tomorrow.'

Though determined to help Samui before her own success, such a

discovery was a god-send to Mabui. Meeting a person that can

potentially speed up her time table by days if not weeks garners an

intense physical response as much as mental, like sprightly energy

deliciously dancing up and down her lower body. The thought of

deciphering the entire jutsu before they even leave Konoha made her

tighten her quivering legs and warming core. With deep calming

breaths, Mabui returns to her table.

After studying for another couple of hours, including vaguely realizing

that the young man was correct about the kinetic Fūin seal, Mabui

decides to leave before making any significant progress. At this stage,

she'd prefer establishing a pattern of attendance within the library,

rather than optimizing the amount of work completed by staying longer.

Anything to make her feel commonplace.

Returning to the safe-site, Atsui informs her that Samui has yet to

return, and though that's alarming, she appreciates how worried he is

for his sister. Given the way he normally acts, it's a refreshing surprise

to see that he genuinely cared more about his sister than his

arrogance. In her observation, Atsui never seemed to be jealous of

Samui's obvious skill as a ninja nor did he lash out as one might expect

from someone suffering from narcissistic overconfidence. For his

biased miscalibration to not affect his relationship with his sister is an

interesting anomaly.

The pair of Chūnin remain armed and vigilant of any unexpected

scenarios when Samui finally signals the first sequence of coded

knocks, the delay, then final sequence before entering their two-

bedroom lodging behind the fabric dyeing textile factory. Though

relieved to see their beautiful team-lead alive and well, Samui's very

short explanation of what happened left both Atsui and Mabui

confused. In fact, Mabui had to ask more questions than Samui even

spoke to understand what happened.

"So, let's just steal it when the other buyer isn't around," Atsui

suggests. "It wouldn't be a hot look if I went back as a failure; not with

such an easy A-Rank mission. The kid's half-dead, right? It'll be like

taking candy from a newborn."

"The second buyer is strong," is all Samui reveals, to which Atsui and

Mabui interpret as, stronger than her, likely meaning it wouldn't be a

good idea to implement. It's a long journey back to Kumogakure and a

strong opponent might catch up to them and take what they paid for.

"What did Ōyashiro-san say our options are," Mabui asks.

"He asked for time," is all Samui states, and again, Mabui has to

interpret that to mean there's only a possibility that the veteran

merchant can secure Kubikiribōchō from the blond owner.

"And if he can't," Mabui asks, elaborating, "can we approach this

Uzumaki-kun? …After he heals, I guess."

"We will give Ōyashiro-san time," Samui simply answers.

The blond woman then stands and retires to the room she shares with

Mabui. After quickly bidding Atsui a good night, Mabui enters their room

as Samui is undressing. It wasn't the first time Mabui has seen Samui

undress, however, every time she did, she couldn't help how impressed

she gets by such a figure. Very fair-skinned with an athletic hourglass

figure and silky blond hair. Her vanilla breasts with rose-pink nipples, in

particular, were large, round with wight, looked invitingly soft, and seem

to defy gravity in the most natural way. Long strong legs, shapely

calves, and dainty feet, Mabui felt her envy clash sharply against the

knowledge of the horrors the gorgeous blond went through as a child.

Chapter 246:

Removing her heeled sandals, business skirt, and blouse before

undoing her hair and letting the silver length fall to mid-back, Mabui

asks, "Samui-san?"

"Taichou," Samui casually interjects as she rolls out her sleeping

sleeve.

Living in a military village, a strict mode of address is normal, however,

it has little place when attempting to form a personal connection. "I

certainly recognize you as our team leader, Samui-taichou, however,

when we're alone and not discussing the mission, would you be

opposed to a personal designation?" Mabui doesn't hear a response,

which she's learned is not a no.

With the guiding principle of serve and return—a genuine interaction to

help build trust and communication—Mabui begins reaching Samui by

asking, "would you like to be friends?"

Though Mabui would never condone a personal relationship when

treating a patient, she's more than aware that a good relationship is the

key to healing trauma. Mabui also knows Samui doesn't respond to

active therapy in a professional setting. If the tranquil beauty performs

best on missions, then that is the best environment to establish a bond.

Additionally, they're both nearly naked, a physical show of trust.

When Mabui doesn't hear more than a body delicately laying down,

she continues, "I'd like it if I could talk to someone about things. Would

it be okay if I spoke with you about my life?"

"We're on mission," Samui speaks.

"Correct," Mabui agrees with a more authoritative constitution,

spreading out her sleeping bag. Hoping to establish a safe connection,

Mabui affirms, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, but ever since

I met you, I've been interested in getting to know you more. Would you

be okay with that?"

Mabui felt the small victory of Samui's silence be snatched away when

Samui answers, "no. Please go to sleep."

Mabui didn't take offense nor will she push it. Pushing never works. It's

a momentary setback at most. Instead, she returns to a professional

demeanor as she voices, "earlier this afternoon, I infiltrated Konoha's

Library."

"Understood," Samui responds. Without another directive, Mabui

assumes she's approved to continue.

KAKASHI

Observing his student in a white room through the one-way mirror in a

secured underground section of the hospital, Kakashi observes Sasuke

remorsefully answer Inoichi, "yes. I know what I did was wrong. I know

where that emotionally based decision stems from and I feel

dishonored and ashamed. Despite killing being allowed, I know I went

too far, Yamanaka-sensei."

The white room was padded and the bandaged Sasuke and Inoichi

were seated with a metal table between them. His raven-haired student

has been questioned extensively about his interaction with Orochimaru

as well as his willingness to accept anything Orochimaru offers. Some

of Sasuke's answers seem disingenuous to Kakashi, and no doubt the

Sandaime also in attendance observing. It was a lengthy session that

started at seven in the morning, however, Inoichi does his job diligently

and it's nearly noon when the mind-walker exits the room.

"Well," Hiruzen asks Inoichi.

"He's saying everything I want to hear," Inoichi easily relays before

soberly adding, "if I only wanted to believe that he simply lost his

temper and made a mistake due to his past and unresolved anger

issues."

"But you don't believe that," Kakashi reasons what they can all agree

on.

"If he were hiding red flags, that would be a good indication that he's

lying, but he's smart enough to speak honestly, if flawed," Inoichi

explains. "He learned from the psych evals after the massacre. By the

end of those sessions he wasn't fidgeting, he made clear eye contact,

expressed himself convincingly through his gestures and did

everything else any educated psychiatrist would gauge as progress."

Focusing on Sasuke through the one-way mirror, he reports, "he's

admitting it to me because he needs to be patient and play along or he

won't get released. In my professional opinion, he'll wait until we're

convinced. When we then let him go, he'll go revert to the way he was."

It's as clear to Kakashi as it is to all the men who've seen that same

corrosive anger in many soldiers who've lost more than they can bear.

Against so much rage and anguish, the mind has to find a manner by

which to regain control or risk insanity. To ease the pain, some men

turn to the bottle, others to women, and if they're lucky, regain a

semblance of control. The majority turn to violence and vengeance.

Staring at the remorseful black eyes on the Uchiha's face, Kakashi's

not fooled. He can see it clearly; the path of revenge.

"No matter how many of his thorns prick us," Hiruzen starts. "I cannot

remove a shinobi of his potential from our ranks."

"Nor should you," Inoichi advises. "To him, his entire existence is

dependent upon seeking revenge. At this stage, Uchiha-kun doesn't

have the mindset to listen—at least, not truly—and if he doesn't listen,

nothing anyone says will get through to him. I recommend he stay

active because if he wasn't a Konoha shinobi, it wouldn't surprise me if

he left the village to seek his revenge."

"He's using us," Hiruzen remarks before asking, "do you believe his

loss against his teammate might've assisted in humbling him?"

"It's possible," Inoichi answers with a deep exhale. "Or it could've only

made him that much more willful. It's a single defeat versus the

massacre of his entire family and clan by his brother. I'm afraid I can't

see how one loss would rewire the entirety of his mental makeup."

"Uzumaki Naruto mentioned he may know of a way to help Sasuke-

kun," Hiruzen remarks to Inoichi. "Any idea what he could mean?"

"Did… uh, did he mention anything else," a slightly startled Inoichi

asks. Though Kakashi noted the hesitance, he couldn't know Inoichi

needed a moment to mentally separate the blond boy from beside his

blond daughter.

Kakashi replies, "he said, 'nobody knows the truth.'"

"Hmm, nothing comes to mind," Inoichi comments ignoring the dread of

his beautiful daughter shattering her innocence by eventually dating,

marrying, and having children of her own. Driven by aching thoughts of

his beautiful child, Inoichi sadly reasons, "but then again, Uzumaki-kun

is a very surprising ninja."

Unaware of Inoichi's turmoil, Hiruzen laughs his slow elderly laugh

before he agrees, "that is certainly true. You can never tell how he'll do

a thing, but you can be sure he will and with great enthusiasm."

Kakashi wonders why Inoichi seems to be in pain, clutching at his

chest, when he asks his Hokage, "your orders?"

"Continue Uchiha-kun's mental therapy," the Sandaime tells them. "I

don't care if he fakes it. We have experience. Let's use it and try our

hardest to show him his quest for vengeance is folly."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," both men respond as their leader leaves.

Taking one last look at his onyx-haired student, acting perfectly

distraught, Kakashi wonders what, if anything, he can do, when he

hears from behind him, "Kakashi-san…"

The long-haired clan head before him looked uncharacteristically

nervous as he asks, "would you say… Is Uzumaki Naruto a good

person?"

Kakashi's single eye blinks in surprise before he eventually nods,

adding, "Mnn, I think he's a very good person."

The aging straw-haired man with a distracted look in his eyes nods

once before turning and leaving. Returning his concern on the avenger,

Kakashi enters the secure white room holding his student, all the while

wondering if Naruto really knows of a way to help him. Though Kakashi

scolded him and lectured him, though Sasuke acted ashamed and

repentant, they both knew nothing positive would come out of it. As

representatives of the darkest night within the shinobi world, they know

it's not in them to change so easily… the lengths they are able to care

is just too debilitating.

Chapter 247:

TENTEN

It took Tenten a second to realize the gorgeous girl waking her up is

actually a boy named Haku. It's the first morning after the eventful night

she survived Zabuza thanks to Naruto. Confused, Tenten sits up to ask

Haku how the beautiful boy managed to enter the secure room when

she notices a heavily bandaged Zabuza leaning against the wall beside

her father's bed. Quickly standing, Tenten yells, "h-how did you get in

here?"

His small eyes feel like shards of glass on her skin as he roughly

communicates, "the hidden leaf is too lax. This village forgot nothing

dulls a weapon's blade faster than peace."

"Calm down, Tenten-chan," Ōyashiro states from the closed doorway.

"They deactivated the security so that I may visit my friend."

Stepping away from Haku and acknowledging every body in the room,

Tenten angrily returns, "you're no friend of his-"

"Relax, sheep," a sickly looking Zabuza croaks, rubbing his temple in

obvious pain. "I'm only here for him," Zabuza states, nodding toward

her father.

"No," she calls, rushing to her father's bedside and taking out her kunai

to protect him against the tall and heavily bandaged madman. "I

thought-"

"What," Zabuza cuts her off, not at all bothered by her kunai. "That I'd

stop being a paid assassin because I lost a fight?" Zabuza laughs but

she can tell he's still in pain when he cuts himself off and holds in a

groan. "People don't go against their nature so easily."

"Please don't kill him," Tenten pleads, wondering if backup might help

her. "He's lost so much-"

"Keep your mouth shut," Zabuza tells her, pressing off the wall to stand

in front of her. "What happens to him will now depend on you."

"Momochi-dono," Ōyashiro calls, asking to explain with his eyes. At

Zabuza's nod, Ōyashiro starts, "now, Tenten-chan. The thing that you

must understand is that not only did my old friend lead me here under

false pretenses, risking my reputation with my clientele—which I am

willing to forgive so long as I attain Kubikiribōchō—but, he also

attempted to take possession of property that did not belong to him and

sell it to me. The consequences he must now suffer are of his own

making, however, that does not mean his death."

Even Tenten can understand how bad her father screwed them and

with a shameful sense of betrayal, as if she wasn't being a good

daughter, she slowly asks, "what… do you mean?"

"Naruto-sama would never condone your father's death," Haku tells a

cautious Tenten.

Zabuza adds, "and I'm not without so much honor that'd deny I owe

him, but, I also don't want your piece-of-shit father anywhere near my

sword."

"He won't-" Tenten tries to proclaim when Ōyashiro cuts her off.

"I proposed to Momochi-dono that Dānyī-san work off his debt to me in

Land of Hot Water," Ōyashiro's voice redirects. "He'll love it," he tries to

reassure Tenten. "We're even building a resort around the hot springs

there."

"No," Tenten calls to the room before hesitantly suggesting, "no! I'll

work it off! Take me instead!"

"I wouldn't dream of taking an active Konohagakure shinobi," Ōyashiro

asserts, shaking his head as if she was mad. "Too much business to

lose for minimal gain."

"Plus you've got your own penance to suffer," Zabuza states, easily

grabbing her by the throat and pressing her to the nearby wall despite

being armed. "I won't kill him. You can thank the brat for that. As for

your crime of being sheep impersonating a ninja; from now on, you

belong to Haku, as his pet or his weapon, I don't care, but his. His!" He

growls and squeezes her neck for emphasis, springing her instinct to

attempt and stab him in the neck but Zabuza easily swats it away.

"You better pray he's good enough to beat the genes of that thieving

father of yours out of you," Zabuza continues, glaring at her

mercilessly. "Because I'll be checking in. And if Haku ever tells me you

maneuvered against me, you snitched to anyone, you even looked at

my sword the wrong way, nothing's going to stop me from gutting your

daddy to death. Got it?"

Ashamed by the building moisture in the corner of her stern brown

eyes, Tenten nods as best she can within his strong grip as Ōyashiro

calmly says, "fear not, Tenten-chan. Your father will not like his new life,

but he will be alive and in my company to complain about it."

And with that, Tenten is knocked out. When she regains

consciousness, her father is gone, the bed is cold, and in his place is

the deed of Ten Out of Ten transferred to her name and notarized.

Much like her absent mother, Tenten has no idea when she'll see her

father again and rather than risk her father's life by telling the Chūnin

about Haku, Zabuza, and Ōyashiro, a lifeless Tenten provides a false

report.

"He just left," her monotone voice communicates.

NARUTO

'Ask, ask, ask,' Kurama repeats. Though Naruto is physically in Iruka's

kitchen with nine cups of ramen in front of him, waiting for the heated

water to soften the hard noodles, his consciousness in within the seal,

in the large, dark, and dank room housing the greatest bijuu. From

behind the tall metal gates, Kurama is prowling in a circle, agitated as

he continues to chastise Naruto. 'You said you would! … and to think I

restrained all of my chakra for your pride!'

'It wasn't about proving something,' Naruto calls back. 'That fight just

didn't have anything to do with you. Do you want me to just use your

chakra for everything?'

'Yes,' Kurama calls back. 'Do you know how devoid I was of any

sensation during your fight? It felt worse than being in this cage, as if I

ceased to exist; as if one as great as I didn't matter! I felt cold and dead

and I shouldn't need to go through that!'

'…I wasn't trying to make you feel that way,' Naruto slowly responds,

realizing he never actually thought how Kurama might feel. Naruto

knows all too well what that feeling is like and says as much. 'I get how

horrible feeling like you don't exist is… which means, I should've

known better. I'm sorry I made you go through that.'

Chapter 248:

Kurama grumbles for several moments as he continues his agitated

pacing, before asserting, 'it's intolerable.' Moving before the gates,

Kurama lays down and places his head over his front paws as he

relays, '…it's only because you were not defeated that I'll ignore it this

time.'

Moving closer to the gate, Naruto smiles at the large beast, offering his

gratitude before adding, 'we're partners, Kurama, and I really do want

you to feel like you can trust me.'

'Then ask,' Kurama voices.

'I will, I will,' Naruto skittishly responds, anxiously clapping both his

hands over the sides of his face. 'I'm just nervous. I've never heard of

such a thing. Ji-chan and Teuchi-jiji always talk about how the right one

for me is out there. Aren't I being greedy by being with multiple girls?'

With lazy eyes, Kurama effortlessly answers, 'no.'

Rolling his eyes at Kurama's bias, Naruto then asks, 'what if I take

someone else's one?'

'So,' Kurama flatly responds. 'You make it sound like thievery. It's there

decision as much as yours, yes?'

'I guess,' Naruto wonders aloud, before asking, 'how's it possible to

love more than one person?'

'Ask someone with experience that isn't our primary mate,' Kurama

maintains. 'If it's possible, then we can't delay learning how it is

achieved.'

'Will you stop calling Nai-chan my primary mate,' Naruto tells his friend.

'To date, she's the most willing,' Kurama informs the blond before

propping itself on his front legs. 'It's been some time since your second

and third mates. Make more time to breed with them.'

'They're not my second and third; it wasn't even about the sex,' Naruto

defends. 'I was only helping Ino-chan, and Sakura was a one-time

thing.'

'All the more reason to ask about multiple mates,' Kurama champions.

'If there's a procedure by which they can all concede to mating with us,

we need to know what it is.'

'You should know it's extra weird when you say us,' Naruto tells the

large chakra-beast with squinted eyes.

'Don't care,' Kurama huffs, laying back down.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto sighs as he wonders who might be the best

candidate to ask; from Ji-chan to Teuchi-jiji, to Ayame-neesan, to Iruka-

sensei or Kakashi-sensei, or the newly aware Anko. He quickly

dismisses Anko, however. 'Anko-chan might tell Nai-chan,' he mentally

reasons. 'Ugh, this is-'

"Hey, Cousin-sama," Karin calls as she enters the kitchen, crimson

eyes instantly spotting the nine cups of instant ramen her cousin is

waiting for. Sadly, Karin can't help but ask, "Haku still not back?"

"No," Naruto sadly mumbles, taking a cup and handing it to her. From

within his seal, Kurama yells, 'we're talking here!' To which Naruto

responds, 'yeah, yeah. Just give me a minute.'

Karin gladly takes the cup and chopsticks from the drawer and digs in

as quickly as her blond kin. After swallowing a mouthful, Karin notes, "I

know I'm new here, but, I have this feeling like we're going to be

entirely useless without Haku." Naruto laughs around munching on his

slippery noodles as Karin asks, "do you have time to talk about some

clan business?"

'No,' Kurama yells. 'You're speaking with the greatest of the Tailed

Beasts!'

"I don't mind at all," Naruto cheerfully tells Karin.

With a low long growl, an annoyed Kurama sounds, 'yyyooouuuu…'

before Naruto abruptly asks Karin, "have you ever heard of a marriage

with more than two people, or a relationship with more than two people

in it? Oh, and they still love each other?"

"What? Where did that come-" Karin calls out wide-eyed in surprise as

she sets her sticks in her nearly empty cup. Suspicious of his regard,

Karin asks, "do you mean for our clan?"

"No, no," Naruto tries, shaking his head as he sets down his empty

cup. "I don't want it to seem like it's for that. I just mean, I've never

heard of a marriage-type of love between three or more people and I

was wondering if you have."

"Uh, I haven't," Karin evenly states, finishing her cup. She takes

another cup he offers as she asserts, "I know we're not a big clan

anymore, but we don't have to rush-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Naruto expresses. "Sorry, I'm not explaining this

right. I just don't think you can love more than one person, like that, at

the same time."

"Well, marriage tends to be between two people," Karin comments.

"But I don't really know enough about that to be of any help. I've only

just recently- uh, …I don't have any experience that might help you.

Sorry."

"That's okay," Naruto waves her off, blowing into his third cup. "I just

thought I'd ask."

"What I can do is help get our clan established here," Karin offers. "Do

you have time today? It's a lot of stuff."

"Are you kidding," Naruto eagerly asks. "Let's do it!" However, thoughts

of the plans in place led Naruto to yell, "aah, but first," before he rushes

outside. Once in the middle of Iruka's forested backyard, Naruto

concentrates on a majority of his spirit energy, crosses paired fingers

into a cross and voices, "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Karin is by the

door watching curiously when nearly five hundred clones of her blond

cousin manifest with popping bursts of puffy white smoke, filling her

vision with white.

After the large gaseous cloud dissipates, Karin's eyes bulge at the

sheer number of clones all over the yard, up many nearby tree trunks

and branches, and all over the roof of the house. With her keen

senses, she can tell Naruto and his clones are a tenth of a tenth of

what his strength generally is. The sight of her exhausted cousin taking

in deep audible breaths worries her, and yet, her worry was

unnecessary when, unexpectedly, all of their chakra seem to signal a

gradual increase in strength, as if they were immediately being

replenished. The phenomena threw her off and Karin couldn't

understand why that would happen or why it felt much more sinister

than the warm chakra Naruto normally gives off.

Chapter 249:

Taking a deep breath, Naruto uses his arms to visually segment a third

of his clones, shouting, "alright! This side, let's find that old pervert.

Search everywhere," he yells and the third of clones all sprint or leap

away. He then points to a single clone, directing it to, "head over to the

library and meet up with that Nee-chan we met." As the single clone

departs, Naruto turns to the rest and commands, "the rest of you,

chakra blades training, fūton chakra control, and Ku-" Aware of his

cousin, Naruto alters the name of the training to, "uh, K chakra training.

Let's get to four tails!"

They all uproariously agree before sprinting away. When Naruto

reaches his cousin, he grins as she asks, "four tails? What's K chakra

training and who's the old pervert? Does he come by here? Is he one

of those sickos who steal girls underwear?"

"K, uh, C training is just a special training I can do," Naruto hesitates to

answer. Though Kurama doesn't want anyone to address him by his

given name, Naruto explains, "I'll tell you more when I can. And the old

pervert is someone I've been told to expect. He's supposed to train me.

I'll introduce you as soon as I find him."

Scrunching her face as if smelling something horrible, Karin professes,

"I'm fine not meeting some old pervert."

Naruto snickers at the thought of telling her Ero-sannin is his

Godfather, thus part of her family as well. Following Karin back inside,

Naruto takes a seat at the dining table with his last two cups of ramen

as Karin moves around several tomes and scrolls as well as papers

she's written her notes on.

His red-haired cousin presses her glasses back as she begins

explaining from her notes, "so, to be a clan we need to meet certain

qualifications; three main ones but each one has their own hurdles as

well. So, first, we need territory. As of the latest volume of, Critical to

Clans by Kingsfun, we don't need to have lived at a property for

decades like it used to be; though I still need to go over the Land Use

and Development Regulation Law. Generally, so long as we have the

deed under our clan's charter, that seems to be what's most important."

Looking at all the stacked tomes, scrolls and papers with incredulity,

Naruto asks between mouthfuls, "how long have you been at this?"

"A couple of days," Karin casually waves him off with a shoulder-swipe

of her red hair. "I just like to keep my mind busy." Disliking staying still,

Naruto nods his head in understanding when Karin asks, "so, I've been

wondering. Did your parents leave you any land?"

With wide eyes, Naruto momentarily considers the question before

answering, "I don't think so. Ji-chan never mentioned anything like that

to me, and he's the only person that would know."

"I still can't believe you call him…" Suddenly growing curious in her

expression, Karin asks, "are you related to Sarutobi Hiruzen?" After

Naruto quickly explains his friendship with the leader of their village,

Karin huffs in surprise and acceptance before asking, "so, why would

he be the only one who knows?"

"Well, he's not the only one but, the only one I talk to who knows,"

Naruto answers. "But now that I think about it, it is kind of weird he

never told me about them. For the longest time, I never asked because

I thought, you know, 'why would he know my parents?' Now though, I

think it's supposed to be a secret to protect me… maybe."

"To protect you…" a head-tilting Karin mumbles, struggling to make

sense of why Naruto would need such a layer of protection. However,

it's only confusing until she considers their surname and the fact that

her mother prayed to Kami every day that they were never found by

their enemies. "Well, I guess nations did destroy our village. Okay, so

that's a no on land," she states as she notes it down on a sheet.

Naruto nods pondering how they're supposed to acquire land when

Karin continues asking, "do you know if they might have left you any

ryo? Maybe the Hokage is waiting until you're older to give it to you?"

"…I don't know," Naruto mumbles with large bug-eyes, realizing he

hasn't asked Ji-chan much about his family. "But I'll definitely ask him if

my parents left me anything and let you know what he says. What's

next?"

"Next is… uh," she voices, taking out different sheets of notes and

reading through a bit before calling out, "oh! We need to submit a

doctrine of how we run our clan. Not to imply they—the village—have

any say in how we run our clan, but, how we govern ourselves and

treat other citizens and clans must be approved. Basically, they won't

approve of us if we're a clan of murderers who love murdering. Our

doctrine must also have a hierarchy, or system, in place to interact with

leaders, other clans heads, the Hokage, and the Daimyō. And in case

you're wondering, that's you, Naruto-sama-"

"Ugh," Naruto's whine cuts in.

Ignoring him with a teasing smile, Karin continues. "Clan secrets will, of

course, remain clan secrets. No one outside of the clan has any rights

to that information no matter what it is. We might be able to claim any

Uzumaki clan techniques or customs already out there—whether

stolen or given—but we'll have to check on that. Next, and this is very

important," she voices, only pausing to find the right page to read from.

"In some cases, it can make or break the process of clanship."

Concerned, Naruto asks, "what is it?"

Reading down to the section she needed to explain, Karin hums before

reading, "we'll need to be recognized as a clan, not simply by other

clans within the village, but also by the civilian population."

With fond condolences, a reminiscent Naruto sincerely offers, "well, it

was a nice dream while it lasted."

Chapter