Meanwhile, in the sim, the three teams took in their procedurally generated surroundings for a moment. It was a forest, as Naruto had said but the flora and fauna was different; very different, from what they were used to seeing. How the hell were mushrooms able to grow that big?! There were spotted mushrooms that reached to their damn thighs for crying out loud!
They also took a gander at what they were wearing, now. Neideen, Roxanne and Sistina were all decked out in their black and red armour - helms and all. Ava and Eva were wearing their old one-piece uniforms, and everyone else was now garbed in the standard-issue uniforms and armour that the Organization had assigned to its warriors. The trainees lacked any personal crests, but that was the only difference. They even had actual claymores on them, instead of the shields, spears, and shortswords they'd become accustomed to.
That was going to take some getting used to, but they didn't mind all that much. They actually liked it. It made them feel like actual warriors!
"Huh… I didn't know plants could grow that big." Leia commented, walking over to one of the spotted mushrooms.
"I… wouldn't separate," Lytelle told the former Number 14. "If this is on the hardest difficulty…" The girl was incredibly nervous; there were three of those flowers the last time they did this, who knows how many of them there are this time!
"You've taken this simulation before," Sistina said, looking at Lytelle inquisitively, "What can you tell us without spoiling anything?"
"I can't say much. But if there's anything I learned in this simulation, it's this: even the most harmless of things can be a deadly predator." Lytelle gave the Divine Oracle a pointed look. "Plants included." while she can't outright say what the enemy was, she can clue her leader on what type of enemy they can be facing.
"Interesting," Roxanne muttered. "So, I'm guessing the objective is to survive an encounter with whatever's here? That's what I've heard."
"Naruto did say we have to survive." Neideen reminded her ex-girlfriend, "We even have side objectives: 'Find out what happened to the previous victims before you, and find out what is causing people to disappear.' He even said we can use whatever method we want, to find out."
"He also said those side objectives are not vital," Regima pointed out. "But, surviving an encounter with whatever is here seems to be the current objective. And if whatever is here is strong enough to take on the likes Priscilla and Teresa..." she trailed off with increasing nervousness.
It told everyone whatever is here was strong. Very strong.
Then again, they had no idea that Priscilla had been reduced to a civilian thanks to Naruto not allowing her to use yoki or chakra.
"In that case, let's stay together, then," Neideen declared. "Anything capable of defeating the Strongest of All Number Ones, and her killer is bound to be tough as nails."
"My thoughts exactly," Henriette concurred. "It would be highly advisable if we all kept an eye on one another and not separate for any reason." When she and a few girls joined Miata in doing this on medium difficulty, they got picked off one by one. "I lost horribly, last time because I lost my cool and ran off on my own to kill whatever was picking off the girls I was participating with… Needless to say, I paid dearly for that."
"I see..." As she looked at the other teams, and her own, the gears were visibly turning in Roxanne's head. The malicious slasher smile she was known for back in her first life had threatened to show on her face, but she managed to keep it hidden. She wanted to win this by any means necessary and if she had to sacrifice the other teams, including her own to win, then she'll gladly do it!
Roxanne is in every sense of the word, a serial killer; she is scheming, manipulative and sadistic as well. It shouldn't come as a surprise that she would resort to sacrificing her own damn team if it meant victory. And so, unknown to any of the others, Roxanne began to plot on getting everyone else killed, just in case she had to.
"We should get going in that case," Sistina said, before calling out, "Leia! Rejoin the rest of us! We're moving out!"
There was no answer…
"Leia?" Sistina looked around and began to worry, "Wait… where is she?"
Savra reached out with her senses and frowned. "She's… she's twenty meters away… and in severe distress."
"Oh, no…" Henriette muttered, completely wide-eyed. She looked at her Captain, Roxanne, and said with urgency, "we have to get to her, now! She'll be gone in less than three minutes if we don't get there, now!"
Roxanne frowned but nodded. If nothing else, it would help them learn what had happened to the others… and that was valuable information. "Alright, let's do it!"
The other leaders agreed, Sistina especially. With that, they were off.
----
Meanwhile, poor Leia was not having a nice day at the moment.
"Oh, ho-ho~!" the sunflower chortled with amusement from inside of Leia's head. "We have a fighter here~!"
The woman refused to let go of her sword, trying to swipe at the vines as they kept shaking her. No matter how hard Himawari tried, though, Leia held firm and kept swiping at her.
"I have to admit, you're pretty strong," Himawari complimented, and the flower truly meant that. The other victims it had from the previous runs were rather...lacking when it comes to strength. So this was a nice breath of fresh air, so to speak.
"I will murder-fuck your face!" Leia yelled in frustration, her eyes glowing a demonic gold as she wildly flailed about.
"Riveting…" the flower commented sarcastically. Truth be told, though, Himawari was in awe as it felt its tendrils holding her down strain. "But, alas, your friends appear to have caught on to our location and I would very much prefer not to have my meal interrupted."
Leia squealed in outrage as she felt the flower's tentacles slithering underneath her bodysuit. They started caressing her folds underneath and slithering around her breasts as the others went and dismantled her armour, bit by bit. Her spaulders and backplate were the first to go, followed soon by her fauld. Then her bodysuit was removed next, taking her sword, gauntlets, and sabatons with it. They were dropped to the ground beneath the suspended woman like trash and promptly forgotten about as Leia's arms and legs were pinned down. "Oh, how I do wish I had more time to play, but your friends are coming fast," Himawari cooed. A massive gaping maw, with orange fleshy mucus-dripping insides, opened up in the centre of its bloom as Leia screamed for help. Her cry was cut short as Himawari enveloped her head.
Time was a-ticking, though, so the flower wasted no time, gobbling the woman down as quickly as it could - Leia's feet sliding in, just as the cavalry arrived, with a crude gulp. Then, just before Neideen lopped its 'head' off, the flower slipped into the ground at lightning speed. Himawari didn't bother digesting its meal just yet; it didn't have the time to do that.
Audrey frowned deeply. "It's fast," she said. "That thing is half a mile away, already!"
"She's dead," Savra added morbidly just a few seconds later. "I can't sense her yoki anymore. There was a massive spike of panic and then, she was gone in an instant."
"That thing is what wiped out the team I did this with," Henriette pointed out. "It only took about thirty seconds to fully digest Millie and Minnie at the same time, according to Miata, and ten seconds to fully digest a full-grown woman, according to Deneve. That flower calls itself Himawari. Don't let it fool you; it's extremely clever and able to read your thoughts!"
The women all shared the same opinion: that was… terrifying.
"You forgot one thing, Hen," Lytelle added with a very serious expression, "It can talk directly inside your head. And due to how I was taken out, I'm pretty sure it can choose who can hear it and who can't."
"Oh, you are such a killjoy," they all heard an androgynous voice coo teasingly in the backs of their minds. "I do so love a challenge, though~! Ta-ta, for now!"
"Was that…?" Heidi trailed off.
"Himawari? Yes." Lytelle answered. "Keep an eye on each other, the flower can spawn tentacles and drag you away from everyone else before they even know you're missing. That's likely what happened to Leia."
"Noted," Roxanne muttered. If she was going to win this, she needed to keep a good track of her meat shields.
----
Meanwhile, back outside, Erica shuddered uncomfortably. "That is going to give me nightmares," she muttered.
Naruto chuckled warmly and ruffled her hair. "You can always come to me if you can't sleep," he said. "I'll gladly comfort you."
The young trainee turned beet red. Though Naruto's intent was completely innocent, her imagination ran away with her at the thought of precisely how he could help her sleep.
"I wouldn't mind some cuddles of my own," Tanya giggled teasingly, lacing her fingers with his as she grabbed hold of his hand.
"Maybe later," Naruto chuckled. "You're here to observe, right?"
"For now," she replied. "But, if nothing happens for a while, I think I'll go ahead and find a way to... entertain myself~!"
The intended innuendo went completely over Naruto's head. "This simulation is on the hardest difficulty," he pointed out. "You're going to find a lot of things happening in it. Besides, you saw how, uh, Himawari took down one of the girls so fast, under the noses of everyone else. That thing's not even the biggest threat." Truth be told, Naruto didn't even know what the biggest threat in this simulation was. It procedurally generates the enemies and once they're in, they're there to stay unless he goes ahead and removes them from the 'system' himself.
----
Back in the sim, Sistina frowned deeply at the information she'd just been given. This was an enemy unlike any other. They couldn't think of it as an Awakened Being, nor could they treat it as one. "We should consider this 'Himawari' as a threat of the highest degree, then," she said. "Stay on high alert and prepare to dogpile it with everything we've got if it pops up again. Any sunflowers we come across should also be chopped to bits on sight for good measure."
"As far as I know, there's three of them." Lytelle said, "Himawari was polite enough to give that much away. But…"
"That was on a lower difficulty, I assume?" Roxanne asked.
Henriette nodded in response to her Captain. "Yeah, it was. This is on the highest difficulty, now. So chances are, the other two sunflowers had been replaced by other predators. We can't assume there's three sunflowers, anymore. Anything could be the enemy, now. It's just our luck that one of them happens to be a psychic flower of all things."
Sistina cautiously looked around her surroundings at that. Henriette had a point there, they can't assume they're going up against three sunflowers anymore. They were both lucky and unlucky that the confirmed enemy is Himawari… and they completed one of the objectives, didn't they? Find out what is causing the victims to disappear without a trace. So they just had to survive long enough to get out.
"Stay close, everyone," the elf-eared blonde called. "Don't separate, and keep an eye on each other. Let's keep moving."
With that said, the three teams ventured forth, delving into the forest with caution. Unfortunately, Himawari was close behind them. And the flower heard every word that was spoken. And so Himawari the Sunflower, followed after them, delving close enough to snatch one or two of them, but not too close to be noticed.
But it had to be careful. From what it could hear from their minds, a few of them can track each other down. That blind one, Savra, was the one who interrupted its meal with Leia. Sistina was another that could sense. The one with the curly pigtails, was also another tracker, as was the eye-patch wearing lady. The last was one of the long-haired women a chick with a calm and collected personality, as far as Himawari could tell. They needed to go. But… the lady with the curly pigtails… Himawari could sense how… manipulative and scheming she is. This chick wanted to win and was perfectly willing to sacrifice the others to that end. She would be the perfect pawn, at least until hers was the last team standing. But how to do this…? They would be on the lookout for it, after all.
Maybe it can pull off the same trick it did to those children? No, Himawari dismissed that idea. It wouldn't work twice. They're on alert, they won't let their guards down. Manipulating the manipulator seemed like its best option, right now. Then, out of nowhere, that little girl's singing started echoing throughout the forest, catching the attention of the women and flower. "Come, little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows~!"
Oh… maybe it can use that girl to its advantage?
"The heck…?" Rachel muttered aloud with a furrowed brow. "Oi, Lytelle, Henriette, did that happen to you the last time?" she asked looking at the girls in question.
"N-No… this is completely new." the latter said in utter perplexment.
The girl's voice seemed to come closer as her melody of oohs and ahs proved almost hypnotic. "Come, little children," she repeated, "I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment; come, little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows~!"
Heidi, known for her 'hawkeye,' immediately spotted movement off to the side as she shouted, "there! It's coming from there!"
The other women followed her gaze to see a little girl in a yellow sundress prancing and twirling about in the distance. Upon seeing her, many felt compelled to follow. Those with weaker wills seemed lost in a trance almost immediately. Lytelle, Rachel, Ava, Eva, and Charlotte all moved forth to follow the little girl, only for their captains and Team Roxanne to stop them. In the commotion, no one had realized a member of Neideen's team had gone missing until it was too late.
Roxanne frowned as she looked to the one-eyed Captain and asked, "Oi, where's Savra? Wasn't she right here?"
Neideen frowned as she, Roxanne, and Audrey all reached out with their senses. Their eyes snapped wide open when they realised she was nearly a mile away!
"Another one bites the dust…" Roxanne said morbidly. She then turned to the others and declared, "by the time we get there, it'll be too late. Let's keep moving and stay close!"
"Y-you can't just abandon her!" Henriette protested.
"You said it yourself: 'it only took about thirty seconds to fully digest Millie and Minnie at the same time and ten seconds to fully digest a full-grown woman'," Roxanne pointed out. "She's a lost cause. Leia wasn't nearly as far away when we noticed her missing and we were still too late, despite barreling towards her at top speed. Now, get moving."
Henriette wanted so badly to counter her point, but the young one's argument died in her throat when she realized that Roxanne was right; loath as she was to admit it, there was nothing they could do! With a sigh and a heavy heart, she nodded begrudgingly.
----
"Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my~" Himawari cooed. "It would seem that your comrades have abandoned you." the flora informed the blind woman in a mocking manner of pity. It then giggled. "Oh, how… lovely~! Now, I get to savour punishing you for interrupting my previous meal~!"
Savra did her best to struggle, roaring as she let loose 30% of her yoki and tried biting down upon one of the vines holding onto her sword arm. If she could free that, Savra stood a chance of cutting herself free. The lifeblood drained from her face as she heard the claymore being drawn from its place in her backplate. She struggled as best she could, regardless, hoping beyond hope that she could catch the sword before it fell to the ground, but alas, that was not to be. It fell and quite sometime later, she heard the clang of metal as it touched the ground… several meters down.
"Oh, come on!" Savra was not one for whining; but in this case, in this situation, she couldn't help herself. She can't see but after hearing that sort-of-distant clang the woman knew she was pretty high up. She didn't really know, though, because she was blind; but it sounded a bit faint to her.
"Oh, dear, it seems I've misplaced your sword~" Himawari cooed with mischief. Then several orange tentacles sprouted from its bloom and wiggled in the air in front of it, "Time to strrrrrip you down~!"
Savra's efforts doubled in vigour as she let loose 50% of her yoki, only for more tentacles to keep her in place for good measure. Then, to her dismay and growing embarrassment several more started slipping under her clothes.
"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're putting those!" she snapped.
"Oh, I think I'm putting one here," Himawari chirped, sliding one between her legs, "and one here," another slipped around and started poking at her anus, "and one here," a tentacle started flicking her right nipple, "and one here~!" A fourth tentacle started rubbing and flicking Savra's right nipple, while the rest started disrobing her, starting with the armour.
The poor blind woman squawked at the sensation of each limb that violated her, squirming as best she could to escape their perverted grasp. Alas, their grip on her was firm, even with her letting loose 50% of her yoki. Himawari was forced to keep a few more tentacles on her though, noting that she was stronger than Leia. It didn't matter, though, as the sunflower was too strong. The former Number 11's armour was swiftly shed, starting with her spaulders and backplate, followed by her fauld. Then, her top and leggings were pulled off, taking the blindfold, vambraces and sabatons with them. It was revealed that her eyes were truly missing, a nasty scar across what was left of them, right before her hair draped down over half of her face.
"Aww… you really are blind." 'Seeing' that nasty-looking scar, Himawari felt... pity for the woman in its grasp. The flora sounded genuinely upset, too.
Savra huffed at it, not caring one bit as Himawari was still quite literally rubbing her the wrong way in several places.
"Don't worry though; I'll put you out of your misery soon enough!" it cheered, acting as if there was nothing wrong about what it was doing. To Himawari, that was precisely the case - it knew it was a part of this simulation and it was just fulfilling its purpose.
"I… I am not some piece of meat!" Savra snapped at it out of growing frustration. "I am a living, breathing human being you pest!"
"And I subsist on living, breathing humans," Himawari pointed out. "I am merely doing as was intended of me in this fabrication of your man's seal network… well, for the most part, at least," Himawari giggled. "I was not intended to be a roaming threat to your safety - that's the job of the snakes, jaguars, and singing Hypno-girl, but I digress." Himawari hummed thoughtfully to itself, as it thought on its decision, "I wonder, should I tenderize you first… or eat you right now? Oh, decisions, decisions~!"
If it took the time to tenderize this morsel then it could miss out on the other potential meals. But at the same time, Himawari wanted to punish Savra for cutting its previous meal short. Then it concluded. "Oh, I know! I'll simply swallow you right now and take my time digesting you~! That way, if I feel the need to rush for whatever reason, I can just finish you off~!"
Not to mention it can lewdly gulp, and slurp her down slowly like it wanted to do to that Leia girl.
"D-don't you fucking dare!"
"Down the hatch, you go~!" Himawari sang, joyously. Then the flower opened its circular gob wide, revealing the mucus-dripping insides to the world. Though Savra couldn't see it, she struggled as best she could against the flower's grasp. When she felt herself starting to move as the vines pinned her arms and legs together, that squirming only intensified. Soon enough, her head was enveloped by the flower's mouth in one swift motion and Himawari let out one loud orgasmic moan.
The flower shuddered as it 'tasted' the blind woman. "Hmmmmmmmmmm~ you taste so good~!" Himawari savoured the flavour, lewdly slurping and gulping its newest victim down, bit by tiny bit.
As was the case with those before her, Savra's consciousness had left and been replaced by a doppelganger the instant Himawari started ingesting her. Himawari moaned gutturally as Savra was happily, and lewdly slurped and gulped down into the flowers stem. It expanded around her nude, sexy body as she slid further and further down into its gob without any fuss. Then once her feet were in, the 'mouth' closed behind Savra effectively trapping her before the flower's stalk shrank down, now stretched over Savra's female form like a second skin.
"Ah… I'm going to savour this~!" Moaned Himawari, it's going to be the first time it ever held back on devouring its meal outright. And so far it was enjoying the blind woman's struggles. The feel of her bosom, her nipples, rubbing against its fleshy interior was riveting! Now, it was time to follow the others at a distance. With that Himawari slunk down to the ground with Savra unwillingly coming along for the ride.
----
"Yeah, I'm definitely having nightmares, now," Erica muttered upon seeing that. She had no idea what that flower was saying, but if it wasn't digesting the blind woman right away… the implications made her shiver in all the wrong ways. Naruto chuckled warmly, pulling her into a one-armed hug and drawing a heavy blush from the young trainee. Erica smiled shyly in appreciation at that. Tanya, meanwhile, grinned impishly and pressed herself up against Naruto's chest, standing on her tiptoes and giving him a peck on the cheek. The sheer suddenness of her kiss stained his cheeks red in an instant, drawing a giggle from the former Number 13.
"Oh!" Naruto chuckled again when he felt Tanya blatantly groping him. "Someone's eager for attention."
"Truth be told, it's one of the reasons I stayed behind," Tanya giggled. "In addition to observing the sim from the sidelines, I wanted to have a little fun… possibly kick off one of those infamous orgies I've heard so much about, depending on how many other girls stuck around with me." She then looked over to a thoroughly flustered Erica and added with a lewd grin. "I certainly wouldn't mind having a nice, little threesome, if you're up for it~!"
The poor, young trainee's cheeks practically invented a new shade of red at that as she sputtered helplessly.
"Tempting as that is, that might not be a good idea," Naruto pointed out. "She's underage."
"You're a lord," Tanya pointed out impishly, dropping to her knees in front of the blond. "And everyone in Morris knows you're banging Riful; as far as they know, she's far more obviously underage than me and Erica, but no one cares because you saved them all and have been protecting everyone since they got here." She started undoing Naruto's trousers and leaning close. "Besides, I frankly doubt she cares and I certainly don't~!"
As much as he wanted the girl to continue Naruto had to stop her right there. The naughty soon-to-be 14 year old huffed and looked up at him with a childish pout when Naruto grabbed her scalp and held her in place.
"Actually everyone knows what Riful is and that she's over 100 years old. That includes the civilians," he said as he pushed her away from his crotch. She only pouted even more at that much to his amusement. "The only reason they haven't gone on a riot is because of what she is… and that I'm cowing her." Naruto added as an afterthought.
"A-also, aren't you going to be going next?" Erica asked, hoping to score some brownie points with Naruto by backing him up. She may be too young to start doing that just yet, but that doesn't mean she can't become his 'favourite little girl' by supporting him. "I don't want to take part in this simulation anymore, but I still want to know what I am up against if I decided to go through it," she added.
The silence from the now heavily pouting Tanya had said it all. And Naruto couldn't blame her; Team Miria didn't want to go through it again, and only did it because they heard Team Undine passed on their first go and tried to save face.
"Don't worry about it," Naruto reassured the girl while redoing his trousers. "You can watch…" he took a deep breath and had a deep feeling that was he was going to say next was something he's going to regret, "...and...grope me at the same time if you want."
The wide, perverted grin that overtook the pout on Tanya's face had told him he would come to regret his choice of words in the seconds to come. He wasn't complaining about it now... but what is it with him drawing all the perverts?!
----
Meanwhile, back in Morris, a familiar pinkette from Konoha let out a heavy sigh as she ventured forth from the guest room she'd been occupying. After handing her brat over to Sasuke for a bit, Sakura wanted to explore for a bit… and avoid getting into a confrontation with those women who had it out for her. She also figured now was as good a time as any to visit Tsunade, if nothing else. With that in mind, she sought out Riful in hopes the young-looking demon girl was in the mood to be civil with her and direct the pinkette towards the clinic that her old teacher was located.
Last night, Sakura noticed that Riful was staying in a room down the hall from hers, right next to the stairwell leading to Naruto's, so she quickly scampered on over there and knocked. She was greeted by two young boys: one with whisker marks, sandy brown hair, and golden eyes who looked like he was going on seven or so, the other appeared to be around four or five and had the same features except for Naruto's cerulean eyes. These boys were Nicholas and Lavitz, respectively - Riful's sons.
"Uh… h-hi?" Sakura greeted them with a friendly, but nervous smile. They didn't respond. Her smile became strained somewhat and she took a deep breath before asking, "Is, uh, Riful in there?"
The two brothers blinked and exchanged looks with one another. Then, after a moment had passed they turned their gazes back to the pinkette.
"Mama's eating," Lavitz replied.
"You need something?" Nicholas asked.
"I'm looking for my old sensei." Sakura got two flat looks from the two of then, prompting her to sheepishly rub her arm and elaborate, "My old teacher? Tsunade… she's working in the clinic, I hear, but I don't know where that is."
She already had them when the woman said 'Tsunade', and the two brothers looked at one another again. They blinked, shrugged, and looked back at the pinkette. "We can give you directions if you want?" Lavitz offered to her.
"Or we can go and bring you to her ourselves?" Nicolas added. While he didn't trust the pinkette because of what she did to his dad, he knew better than to leave the woman alone. Because leaving someone with the same strength as Tsunade, surrounded with dozens upon dozens of hybrids and Awakened Beings that wanted to beat her up, or worse, was just asking for trouble!
"I don't trust her," Lavitz said with a prominent frown.
Nicolas looked at his younger brother and said, "Neither do I, but what is worse: showing our dad's abuser to Tsunade, or, leaving her to find the woman herself with all of our aunties wanting to punch her face in, or worse, eat her?"
Lavitz's frown grew even more. "...the second one."
"Obviously," Nicolas scoffed with a shake of the head. Then he turned to the pinkette who, to his hidden amusement, was twitching with irritation. He completely ignored that however and beckoned the woman to follow him as he and Lavitz left their room. "Come on, pinkie, let's get you to Doctor Tsunade."
"My name is Sakura,"
"You have pink hair, therefore, you are 'pinkie'." Nicolas bluntly said. "Want me to call you by your name, then have a natural hair colour."
"This is my natural hair colour," Sakura pointed out, as she followed after the two brothers down the hallway. She felt a little put off by them. They didn't feel normal, in the sense of normal humans, for some reason.
"Don't care," Lavitz replied with a sickly sweet grin. Then, his eyes then started glowing a mint green as he added. "Now, be a good girl and we won't eat you~!"
"Dad won't like that at all." Nicolas pointed out, nudging his little brother. "...Neither would the dark-haired man. Dad said he's just as strong as he is. I'd rather not have to see what this Susao-thing, dad talks about, looks like in person."
"That just means we have to make sure they don't find out," Lavitz chirped. "Maybe we can blame it on that guy who keeps hitting on Harja? I don't like him."
"Amusing as that thought maybe, I'd rather not risk it," a somewhat-familiar, feminine voice chirped from behind them. The woman in question was Riful, herself, though she looked much older than Sakura last saw her. Now she looked like she was in her late teens!
"...Riful? How come you're older?" Sakura was confused, very confused, how was this possible? Was it a genjutsu, like Tsunade's?
"I can shapeshift my dear," the Abyssal One replied. Then, a proud grin spread across her face as she placed a hand on her abdomen. "Also, Naruto brought to my attention last night that these two have another sibling on the way, so I started upholding this form to ensure the child grows up to be nice and healthy~!"
Nicholas and Lavitz perked up at that. "Brother or sister?" they asked at the same time.
"Too early to tell." the Abyssal One answered with a warm chuckle. Then she looked between her sons and Sakura, "So, what's going on with you three? Where are you headed?"
"Pinkie here wants to see Doctor Tsunade," Nicolas replied, pointing at said pinkie with his thumb. "Don't want the rest of our aunties to try and hurt her if I can help it. Dad wouldn't like it and his friend won't like it either,"
"Ah, a good decision," Riful said with a smile. "Well, now that I'm here I can safely guide Sakura to the doctor."
"Okay," Lavitz nodded and he and his brother both went over to their mum and pecked her lovingly on the cheek. "See you later, mum,"
"See you later, you two!" Riful giggled watching them as they went back to their rooms. Once they were out of sight the Abyssal One sighed before she brought her gaze back to the green-eyed pinkette. "Alright, let's get you back to your old teacher, hmm?"
"Ah, y-yes!" Sakura nodded and let the brunette lead the way. She may be weird as fuck, at least by her standards, but she took on a goddess! Compared to Kaguya, this 'danger-loli' as Anko called her wasn't so scary… though that wasn't saying much, to be fair. Even a pissed off Kage or Bijuu was less scary than Kaguya!
Riful was at least civil, though, so that was nice.
"So… I've got to ask: just how the hell does one man manage to have so many wives and kids?"
"By being Konoha's most unpredictable, number-one knuckleheaded ninja," Riful giggled. "It's quite endearing, I must say. No wonder he got so much female attention, back home. That young man is also nothing short of a miracle worker. Having Shadow Clones and such ungodly stamina does help, though~!"
"Wh-what do you mean by 'so much?'" Sakura asked awkwardly. She was aware of Anko, Maki and Hinata, but that was mostly it. There were also the fangirls, but they never actually did muster up the will to approach him, right?
"And that is why I feel he uses the word 'friend' a bit too loosely for my liking," Riful sighed. "As it turns out, he has several lovers and one-night stands under his belt. Quite impressive, I must say."
"E-Eh?!" Sakura was shocked and in a little disbelief. No...there's no way that Naruto could have slept with so many people! Sure, Naruto's gotten more popular ever since the war, but that wouldn't - cannot! - be the reason that he's gotten so much female attention!
"He even remembered every name," Riful chirped with pride. "He's got a good memory and tries to do so much to keep us all happy, the dear." then she sighed, pressing her hand against her bosom, "I suppose that stemmed from all of the abuse he suffered at the hands of your village."
Sakura flinched at that. Never had the pinkette felt so powerless as when she heard of the Suna Incident. And when Sasuke found his friend, no, more like his friend had found him, with Hinata's bloodied body in his arms… of how the Uchiha had tried his very best to bring her back and failed… Sasuke told her that Naruto simply... broke down. She had a feeling that the Uchiha had been lowballing the severity of his recounting; when all that happened, she literally felt the malice from Naruto at the time, all the way from Konoha!
"Y-yeah… that's one of the many dark things Konoha has done. It's not my… proudest moments, either."
"I know. There's nothing you could have done. Even throughout your career as a 'ninja', you were the load. Even when you had received training from the strongest woman on your continent, you were still the load." Riful then gave her the stink eye. "What exactly did you do, other than belittle, berate, and beat Naruto while playing cheerleader? Because his autobiography didn't exactly paint you in a very good light, despite how hard it tried. And in the end, all you managed to do, after helping your teacher's friend find your Sasuke-kun... was to sucker-punch a goddess… while your to-be-husband and teammate did all the real work."
"I saved his life!" Sakura shot back almost immediately. She was not a load! "After Kurama had been extracted by Madara, I cut Naruto open to manually keep his heart beating until we got to the Yondaime Hokage!"
Riful huffed, "...And?"
"And? What do you mean and?!"
"What else did you do other than that? Even if you add that to the list, it's not impressive in comparison to Naruto and Sasuke… and you had better training than the both of them, combined."
Sakura bristled. "I convinced Naruto to go after Sasuke! And it helped us out in the long run!"
Riful scoffed and rolled her eyes. "After you begged Sasuke to take you with him, and he knocked you out." she countered, "And it almost got Naruto killed, too… several times… again. Did you not learn from the first time all that happened?"
The pinkette struggled to come up with a response but came up empty.
"Just be glad that he still has a heart of gold, after all this time," Riful sighed. "Had he not been so forgiving, I would have killed both you and Sasuke in your sleep, and devoured your innards, damn the consequences."
Just when Sakura opened her mouth to respond to that, the pinkette and brunette both heard Jean, Galatea, and Clare talking casually to each other about their man.
"I'm surprised he's let them come back into his life," Jean said.
"Me too," Galatea replied, chuckling humorlessly, "but he's got a heart of gold. He's very caring."
"I'll say~" Clare giggled pervertedly, "We should thank Sakura for turning him away, though."
"Oh? And why's that?" Galatea asked.
"Well, if she had him all to herself, we couldn't be wrestling with that fifteen-inch beast of his, of course~!" Clare started growling throatily at the mere image of his cock running through her head.
Sakura's jaw dropped at that.
Jean giggled in complete agreement. "That beast just feels so good when it's thrusting away inside you; it's honestly addictive! To this day, I have no idea how he managed to make it fit."
"I wouldn't mind going for another orgy with him. The three of us, and Riful, just like the first time we met him…" Galatea sighed dreamily.
"Knowing our luck, some young innocent maiden will walk in on us and lose her virginity to that little bitch-breaker," Clare chuckled. "That tends to happen, nowadays... not that I mind~!"
Jean and Galatea shared a heart laughy with her at that.
A violently twitching Sakura slowly looked down at Riful at that, and silently hoped beyond hope that they were lying. Because, they had to be lying, right? No one has a dick that big! Right?!
Riful giggled, reading the flustered pinkette like a book. "Every last thing you just heard is true, by the way~!" She then gave her a wide, evil grin. "...and yes, it really is fifteen inches~!"
Uchiha Sakura's brain needed a moment to reboot, unable to process the information. Oh, look, they were at the clinic now! Too bad Sakura's brain was still trying to reboot. Meanwhile, in the clinic itself, Miata was horribly confused. Papa was so much taller than fifteen inches… like a lot taller! Also, what's a bitch-breaker? What's an orgy? What were those ladies outside talking about? She had so many questions!
Jean, Galatea, and Clare undoubtedly thought that Miata and any nearby kids of Naruto's couldn't hear them, but had horribly underestimated the former. The door was closed, but the girl in question had really good hearing. And then it opened and the lady with the strange, pink hair was brought in by Riful. Sakura, who had recovered by this point, eyeballed Miata who was staring at her oddly, but shrugged it off. In one corner, a girl from Konoha was scribbling away in a notebook, being sniffed by a few Feeders and giggling when one of them licked her cheek. Off to the other side of the clinic, Shizune and Tsunade were doing their best to teach another how to walk straight, while Clarice was being sniffed and nuzzled by two more as she tended to Gaki's back.
"Oh, hello, Sakura," Shizune chirped. "Have a seat and we'll be with you in a moment."
"Did you need something, too, Riful, or were you just bringing her here?" Clarice asked, perking up when she heard Shizune greet the pinkette.
"I could use another batch of those home-grown innards," the Abyssal One replied. "It turns out that I'm pregnant, so I'm going to need a bit more food than usual, so I can maintain this form."
"Have a seat and we'll set up an appointment, then," Tsunade replied.
Riful nodded, before beckoning Sakura to follow. As the two sat down, one of the Abyss Feeders scampered on up to the former and sniffed her. The Feeder in question was the strawberry blonde that Naruto and Inonon were thinking about naming Akkah - a local name, pronounced 'uh-KAW', that bore a strong resemblance to Aka, the ancient word for red. She immediately recognized a particular scent coming off of Riful and nuzzled her. The Abyssal One of the West giggled at her attention and ruffled the Feeder's hair. It felt so weird getting along like this with a weapon that was created to kill her, but that was just a testament to just how badass her hubby was. "Good girl," she praised, drawing a giggle from the Feeder.
"Naruto and I are trying to think up names for them," Inonon called out. "He wants to have at least twelve to choose from and I have six. Would you happen to have any suggestions?"
"Names, eh," Riful made a beeline to Inonon with the Feeder sniffing her following after her. "Do you have any preferences?"
"Naruto wants actual names local to this continent. Ones from mine are okay too, but he'd prefer the former." the blonde answered smiling at the Abyssal One when she took a seat beside her. "Other than that, we're open to just about anything. I already got six possible names, and I want to get above nine. Maybe around 17 to 18 names, just in case."
"Hmmm…" Riful looked at the one whose head was resting on Inonon's lap and giggled. "That one looks like a Rylee to me." She was the hyper one that has no idea how to conserve her energy and often found herself napping to recharge as a result.
"Alright, how do you spell that?"
Meanwhile, when Shizune and Tsunade were done tending to the Feeder they had been occupied with, they came up to Sakura. "So, what's up?" the brunette asked.
"I just… wanted to see how you were doing is all…" Sakura answered. "I haven't seen any of you in nearly 7 years."
"We're doing fine, as you can see," Tsunade answered, gesturing to the Abyss Feeders who were clothed. Thank the Sage for Inonon making them wear clothes again… even if they preferred to wear nothing underneath. It wouldn't be nearly as awkward, were it not for the women wearing easily-shed dresses, in case 'Alpha' wanted to mate with them... "I even got myself a new student and she's absorbing everything I'm teaching like a sponge."
Clarice blushed and giggled at that, overhearing the conversation as she helped Gaki off the table so she could tend to one of the other two.
"Yep, Clarice is getting the hang of things a lot faster than it took me, or even you Sakura." Shizune looked at the blushing brunette with beaming pride, "At this rate, she'll become a fully-fledged medic in a few more months!"
"I...see…" Sakura didn't know how to feel about that. "Congratulations, I guess?"
"Thank you," Clarice was graceful enough to take the compliment with a smile, "It's hard work, but I'm glad I'm not being useless, anymore. You have no idea how bad of an inferiority complex I had."
"I've been there before," Sakura replied with an awkward chuckle.
"I know you have. It must've been tough, being left behind by your teammates; one on a two and a half year training trip, and the other defecting to a traitor. Though one can argue that you've been left behind long before that." Clarice said after a moment of thought.
Sakura couldn't help but slump over at that, with a cloud of depression hovering over her head. Even she was judging her!
----
A few minutes later, back in the sim, Himawari had finished gulping down the gooey remains of Savra. The blind woman was too much of a liability after nearly being caught by those hybrids for the fifth time. Still, the flora enjoyed its meal, and, with no more liabilities making it easy to detect by their sensors the sunflower followed after them. Roxanne scowled, warily eyeballing her surroundings. "It would appear that flower's done toying with Savra," she declared. "She's gone."
Henriette was especially displeased to hear that. Pushing aside her righteous fury towards the demon-plant in question, she said, "we need to remain vigilant. Now that Savra's gone, we can't detect Himawari anymore; that... thing will undoubtedly pick off anyone it can."
Heidi took her little sister's advice to heart, and focused her yoki through her eyes, scouring their surroundings for anything that might potentially threaten them. "I don't like this… it's too quiet," she muttered. Then she looked to her sister and asked, "Is there a hunting grounds for this thing? Naruto said only clothes were left behind, we saw how that's possible, but there had to be more clothes belonging to the missing victims, enmass somewhere, right?"
"There is." Henriette answered, "But that was for the other flower. Himawari's a wandering threat, so it may have had a hunting ground of its own at one point before the thing got bored and decided to actually hunt its prey."
"To be clear, it wasn't that I got bored," they all heard Himawari chime in. "Upon reading my first real victim's thoughts, it became clear to me that this world I know was a fake. A fabrication of my creator, my... 'father' if you will. I suppose in some weird twisted way, I am this 'Naruto's' offspring. Seeing as he created me. Should I thank 'Daddy' for feeding me such delicious female morsels, I wonder~?"
"We aren't food Himawari!" Lytelle berated the flower. "We're human beings! We are thinking, feeling creatures!"
"Animals are thinking, feeling creatures too. Yet you don't feel any different when they're slaughtered like cattle. Let alone think about how they feel as they watch their own family being butchered." Himawari countered casually. "So, little morsel, why should I, a thinking, feeling creature, feel any different? I mean, I was literally made to eat you if you let your guard down, was I not? To me, you are food, just as a pig or cow is food to you~!"
"Well, you gotta give the flower props, it's got a point," Roxanne said with a shrug. Though she was keeping an eye on her surroundings. She made sure to stay close to her meat shields, just in case, though. "You wouldn't happen to be willing to negotiate, would you? I'd prefer not to be eaten."
"Well, that most certainly depends, Roxanne of Love and Hate. What are you able to offer me in exchange, I wonder?" This could be its chance to get some morsels without having to work for it!
"Name your price and we'll work from there?"
"Well, you know what I like," Himawari giggled. "If you want to purchase your life, I'd require you to bring in at least one other to this sim - someone young and juicy. Children, I find are especially tasty~!"
Roxanne frowned. She may be a bitch, but she's not that much of a bitch… on the other hand… her eyes glanced at the trainees Ava and Eva especially.
"Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you are," Neideen deadpanned.
"Admittedly, I would have considered it, had it not been for Naruto," Roxanne replied with a shrug. After a moment of thought, Roxanne asked, "How about we think outside the box…? Ladies, have you been able to make those Shadow Clone things that Naruto can do?"
"No one here can," Sistina pointed out.
"Damn it. I was hoping we'd be able to use those as substitutes." The other former Number One muttered. She hummed in thought, grasping at straws for ideas. "Himawari… how eager are you to meet your 'Daddy'?"
"I am admittedly curious about him," the flower replied. "But, if I wanted to see him that badly, I'd consult the other beings in this seal… We shall see; I'll leave you alone for now, at least until I've made my decision on the matter... but I cannot guarantee I'll do the same for your comrades. Some of them just look too tasty to resist~!"
Roxanne sighed eyeballing her team in particular. "Stay close to me," she said. Now that she thought about it, a show of camaraderie was probably not a bad way to get on Naruto's good side and get some nice snuggles out of him.
Seeing as she was probably the safest person to be around right now, Audrey, Henriette, Heidi, and Hanna all did just that.
"We should get moving," Roxanne declared. "Seeing as how we've discovered what happened to the previous victims, it's safe to say we've achieved that objective. Now, let's see about getting out of this jungle."
That sounded good to them…
As the walking buffet ventured forth, eventually deciding on heading east, Himawari followed after them. Unfortunately for the group, that singing girl from earlier came back again with her hypnotic tune. "Come, little children, the time's come to play, here in my garden of shadows"
"That girl again…" Roxanne huffed, looking around for her. Actually… now would be a great time to see what exactly this girl does to those who've been ensnared, right?
As the girl transitioned into a melody of oohs and awes, Ava, Eva, Lytelle, Charlotte and Rachel all struggled to keep a hold of themselves. Though the former Number Five was somewhat successful, the younger girls and former Number 47 were ensnared immediately. Then, the girl came into view and her glow left even Roxanne, Sistina, and Neideen struggling. They were able to resist, but just barely as they struggled to snap their comrades out of it. When she passed by, and everyone got a hold of themselves, Rachel and the twins were noted to be missing.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Roxanne shouted out of sheer frustration, "Sistina! Audrey, you two are former Eyes, so find those three so we can get them back before they…" Her voice died in her throat when several orange tentacles snatched up the former and reeled the now screaming woman in. "DAMN IT, HIMAWARI! NOW'S NOT THE TIME!"
"Oh, but now's the perfect time~!" Himawari giggled. "You sensor-types are so troublesome, keeping me from enjoying my meals properly; for shame~! Ah! And this presents a perfect dilemma for you: do you save your sensor, or the twins and musclehead? Ohhh, decisions, decisions~!"
"Forget about me!" Sistina shouted, "Save them! They're more important!"
"You're a Number One," Roxanne countered. "And our sensor! Not to mention you're Lytelle's team leader! You're stronger than me for crying out loud!"
"So is Neideen, and she's chasing the twins! You know how important they are to her!"
Roxanne turned to see that the one-eyed woman was indeed missing. "Oh for FUCKS SAKE!" the curly blonde took a deep breath to calm herself. "Fucking damn it, Neideen!" she closed her eyes and then looked at Audrey, "You! You're going to be in charge of half our group! Pursue Neideen; the other half will follow me to rescue Sistina since she's closer to us! And for the love of the Twin Goddesses - because I know they're watching thanks to Neideen and Sistina's connection to them - Don't. Split. Up the parties any further than that!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!" Audrey saluted and gestured the rest to follow her. Those who went with her were Regina, Charlotte and Lytelle, leaving Roxanne with Henriette, Heidi and Hanna.
As they left to pursue Neideen, Roxanne looked in the direction Sistina was dragged away in and tells her remaining teammates, "treat this as an Awakened Bring hunt. We'll need to work together to rescue Sistina and meet up with the rest before it's too late!"
"Understood," Heidi replied. Hanna and Henriette nodded as well, drawing their swords.
Roxanne nodded back, drawing her own. "Let's go!"
And with that Team, Roxanne was off on a rescue mission to save a Number One that was in dire straits.
----
"Follow sweet children, I'll show thee the way through all the pain and the sorrows; weep not sweet children, for life is this way, murdering beauty and passions~!"
Ava and Eva shambled helplessly behind the singing girl, completely oblivious to the impending danger that awaited them. Rachel was some distance behind them, off to the side a bit, after having been delayed by Sistina. But then, her captain was overwhelmed. The singing girl giggled impishly as a plant sprouted between her and the twins. The thing was huge! The sheer scale of the thing was almost titan sized, from the way it looked, height-wise. In reality, it was around as tall as a half-grown tree. Easily towering over most large Awakened Beings, but still in its adolescence. But the thing that stood out the most about it, was the large 'head' with a mane of several wiggling vines and a single row of sharp teeth that made up its mouth. They stalk, or stem was wide enough to swallow two elephants whole. And it had several masses of tentacles that act as its 'arms' and 'hands', made entirely for grasping and holding firmly.
And the twins were walking right to it.
As one the tendrils dashed over to the twins and coiled around their legs, arms and waist, lifting them off the ground and easily ripping into their clothes and tearing them off their young, nubile bodies. Thick drool, or mucus, dripped from its maw as it brought the still entranced twins to its opening gaping, mucus dripping mouth. Rachel, meanwhile, was snatched up by another plant she'd shambled by a little too closely - this one being a massive, yellow pitcher plant the size of a house. She, too, was stripped by the purple limbs.
As the three were snatched up and stripped in preparation to be consumed, the girl who'd lured them continued her hypnotic tune. "Hush now, dear children, it must be this way; too weary of life and deceptions! Rest now, my children, for soon we'll away into the calm and the quiet~!" With that, she transitioned back into a melody of oohs and awes, twirling and prancing about the foliage. Rachel and the twins still put up no resistance as a result of the girl's hypnotic singing. All three were dropped and easily swallowed by their respective predators, only snapping out of it and screaming in terror when they were swiftly digested.
Just as their yoki signatures faded and the venus flytrap-looking plant let out a large belch, a suddenly livid Neideen looked on in disbelief. Without even thinking, she let loose her yoki to the absolute extreme that she was capable of controlling. Then, she vanished, reappearing at the base of the plant that had just consumed her precious 'Twitchy and Squeaker' before grabbing hold and ripping it out by the roots with a roar of righteous fury. Then, she tossed the murdering plant to the sky and leapt after it; drawing her sword, Neideen chopped the fucker to tiny little bits and pieces in an instant. Even then, she kept slashing, only letting up when the hapless predator was but a fine powder.
Then she looked around, snarling as she searched for the brat that led the deaths of Ava and Eva, only to see that she had vanished without a trace.
"BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU SHOW UP AGAIN!" Neideen howled in anger.
----
With Roxanne, Henriette, Heidi and Hanna they were pursuing Sistina's yoki source as fast as they possibly could. She wasn't that far, she was a lot closer to them than Leia was, so the Divine Oracle had more of a chance of surviving if they all hauled ass! Not to mention Roxanne did not want to face her fiance without showing some concern for the rest of the teams… and meatshields. She wanted to score some brownie points with him after all. Besides, the other teams being around made it less likely that she would be eaten next - especially with the flower targeting sensor-types Sistina were bigger threats to this flower's hunting methods. The longer she could keep them both around, the longer she'd last.
"We're almost there, just a little further…!" Roxanne said, determination fueling her every step.
When they got there, the four women saw Sistina's clothes and armour strewn about, the half-blind woman's legs kicking as Himawari gobbled her down in lewd, exaggerated slurps. In an act of desperation, Henriette and Hanna dropped their swords and dashed forth, grabbing onto her ankles without thinking as they tried to pull her out. Heidi dashed forth tho pull her sister away, only to be snatched up as the trainees pulled their comrade out. Then, Hanna, Henriette and Sistina were snatched up again by several orange limbs.
"Oh, dear," Himawari muttered. "It would seem that pesky singing girl has led those three to their deaths. I don't like losing meals. I'll deal with her when I'm done with the lot of you."
"You bastard!" Henriette roared. "Let us go!"
"Nope." Himawari replied, "The deal I have with Roxanne of Love and Hate is still in effect; unless she comes over here to rescue you then that deal that is keeping her alive is still on."
Roxanne growled, hesitating for a moment.
"Five or four," Himawari cooed. "There are still five left in the other group. Do you wish to risk it all trying to save these four or will you cut your losses and try to ensure the safety of the larger group~?"
Roxanne growled again, struggling to come up with a decision as Himawari's vines started slithering into the clothing of her teammates. Of course, Himawari already knew what the woman's decision was going to be; it can't outright control people, but it can influence them, after all.
"You son of a bitch!" Roxanne snarled, sheathing her sword as she bolted.
"ROXANNE!" Henriette screamed in dismay, a look of absolute betrayal on her face. "ROXANNE COME BACK! PLEASE!" The woman didn't stop. She only sped up faster, forcing herself to keep going to resist the urge to go back.
"I wouldn't bother calling for her," Himawari cooed, making sure that only those in its grasp can hear its voice. "Here's a little something I haven't told anyone, not even Galatea~ I can influence people. I did it to you and Lytelle, the last time you were here. And now, I made Roxanne decide to leave~!" Himawari cackled menacingly in their heads. "Now, I get to eat you all together!"
"I will fucking murder you!" Henriette wailed unadulterated wrath.
"You said something along those lines the last time, and the last time you also ended up in my roots." Himawari playfully, yet sinisterly pointed out. "Time to die~!"
Henriette cried out in outrage and discomfort as her clothes were forcibly yanked off, taking her armour with them. The same thing happened to the other two revealing their nude, fit and toned physiques for all to see.
"Henriette!" Heidi screamed as she watched her sister being brought forth to Himawari's 'face', its circular gob opening up to envelop her. "Put my sister down, you bastard!"
Himawari ignored her as it enveloped Henriette's head with an audible nom. Then, it started gulping and slurping her down. Henriette screamed and squirmed all the way as she was guzzled down before Himawari's stem shrank down upon the young ones struggling form. Heidi looked on in horror as her sister stopped moving and the bulge in Himawari's stem lost its shape, quickly melting into an amorphous blob before Himawari gulped down the remains.
"Just as delicious as last time~!" Himawari moaned orgasmically as Heidi roared in righteous fury. "Oh, don't worry," the flower cooed. "You're next~!"
"I'll bite you!" the enraged blonde spat with bared teeth and wide, glaring eyes, "I'll rip your insides out like they were made of paper you FUCKING PLANT!"
"Oh-ho, my~! How creative," Himawari giggled, pulling her in, before enveloping her head.
----
Roxanne snarled at herself as she could still hear the girls she'd left behind yelling at Himawari. She did her best to ignore it, dashing forth at inhuman speeds. Soon enough, they were devoured or she was simply too far away to hear them or sense. She couldn't tell. With another growl, the former Number One doubled her pace and quickly found herself caught up with the others. She frowned, noting that Rachel, Ava, and Eva's signatures weren't among them. So, the plant was telling the truth, then… Damn it!
Roxanne slowed down, reigning in her yoki as she finally caught up to the rest of them. Audrey looked concerned as she saw her captain without the rest of their team. "What happened?"
"That damn flower happened." Roxanne snarled, before marching on up to Neideen and yelling, "Oi! Pull it together and pick two. They'll be your new team. We're heading out. Capiche?!"
Neideen growled before looking at the remaining warriors. All they have left were Lytelle, Regina, Audrey and Charlotte. This was bad… This was VERY bad. She took a deep, calming breath before calling out, "Lytelle, Regina, you're with me. Now, let's find that singing bitch and gut her like a fish."
Roxanne frowned. Her ex had clearly been emotionally compromised. She knew those twins were dear to her but damn!
"T-they're not dead though. Not really," The understandably nervous Audrey said, trying to cheer the normally-cheerful, perverted woman up. "Naruto said they'll be fine once this simulation ends… but you have a point. That girl needs to be taken care of before any more of us fall victim."
The one-eyed woman's gaze snapped in the direction of a familiar voice singing, "come, little children, I'll take thee away, into a land of enchantment~!"
"That's enough of you," they then heard someone else say. All six women were surprised to hear Himawari intervene, popping out of the ground and snatching the girl up before them. "I think it's time to punish you for depriving me of such delicious meals~!"
The girl yelped as her sundress and knickers were shed as she squirmed in Himawari's grasp, and then… Audrey, Roxanne, Neideen, Regina, and Charlotte went wide-eyed in shock as three tentacles forcibly entered the girl's mouth, anus and vagina, viciously raping her before them. Lytelle groaned at the memory of being violated in such a way, though she was thankful that her treatment was not nearly as brutal as what befell the singing girl. The poor thing gagged and wailed in pain as Himawari pounded her into oblivion, three more tentacles playing with her clit and nipples. She writhed and squirmed, struggling to extract herself from the vengeful sunflower's grasp.
Neideen, who was enraged at what this brat had done to Ava and Eva, couldn't help but wince in sympathy at the girl's gurgling and pathetic cries. She was thoroughly angry with the girl, angry enough to kill her, but this? That was… torture, pure and simple.
The girl wailed once more, even louder than before, and her entire body shuddered before she went utterly limp. Himawari extracted its vines from her and dangled the girl before its bloom. Then, it enveloped her head and slurped the singing girl down in one fell swoop like a damn ramen noodle. Its stem clamped down upon the girl like a second skin and then the human-shaped bulge quickly lost its shape, her body reduced to a sack of human goo before Himawari gulped down her remains with a shudder.
"Not as good as the real thing." Then, all six women flinched as it suddenly turned its 'head' to look at them. "Terribly sorry you had to see that," it said, apologetically, "I enjoyed that just a bit more than I should have. Hmmm… I wonder if she'll come back once this is reset? I'm curious, now. Anyway! Consider this small act of kindness a freebie from me~!"
With that, the flower sank into the ground, and said without stopping, "Also, there are giant snakes and other flowers around this general vicinity. The latter are relatively stationary and will only start moving when you've spotted them. Be on the lookout for them! Or don't for the flowers, they won't come after you otherwise!"
"And...what about you?" Audrey asked Himawari stopped with its head just above the ground.
"Oh, I'm almost full, which is a first for me." The flower's 'head' tilted curiously. "Then again, I've never had so many delicious morsels in one sitting before. I think I have enough room for one more; the others were simply delicious and quite satisfying~! Tata for now!" Then the flower's head went completely into the ground.
There was a very tense silence around them. "...Giant snakes and other flowers…" Audrey slowly edged to the last two strongest single digits amongst them for protection. "I, uh, hope they're not as intelligent as Himawari."
"Um…" Lytelle looked at Roxanne, her new captain, "Should… should we make our way out of here? The mission is a failure and we're down to just the six of us, now. The next logical step is getting all of us out of here as fast, and as safely, as possible… right?"
"Very true," the woman replied, before turning to Neideen. "Let's go."
"R-right," she replied, suddenly feeling rather drained. "The sooner we're out of this sim the better."
"And the quicker you can get your snuggles," Roxanne added, trying to cheer up her ex. It didn't work.
"Y-Yeah… snuggles… yay." Neideen muttered halfheartedly. She sounded so emotionally dead right now, but, truth be told, she needed some loving right now.
Roxanne frowned as she looked around. "...I wonder if that was how Naruto felt… after his first girlfriend died." she thought aloud to herself.
With that, they were off to find a way out.
----
Meanwhile, outside of the simulation…
Erica looked up at Naruto with morbid curiosity, "Were you like that when your first girlfriend died?" she asked; the girl was unable to help herself, she had to know!
"Of course not," Naruto answered with a dismissive scoff, drawing a sigh of relief from the girl. Then he added, "I was worse."
Both she and Tanya visibly jumped at that before hugging him.
Naruto hugged them back, not really minding the contact, "I think I was suicidal and emotionally compromised as well. It's all a blur, to be honest. I remember being the angriest I've ever been; but, after that, everything just went… by. Like a blur of motion. I wasn't in control of myself, I wandered for several months, or maybe it was a few weeks, before taking a ship here nearly a decade ago." He rubbed their backs appreciatively. "I'll never be able to replace her, but I'm glad I found myself a new family," Naruto chuckled warmly, giving either girl a peck on the forehead. "One that's growing bigger and bigger, every day."
Tanya and Erica smiled at that, giving him a peck on either cheek. Smiling at them and ruffling their heads, Naruto looked back at the simulation. More importantly, Neideen - she needed some tenderised loving right about now. Or maybe something to lift her spirits? Well, Roxanne is her ex. That woman knows the pervert better than anyone in that simulation. If anyone can cheer Neideen up, it'll be her. He hoped they would give him a show if Roxanne does decide to increase her morale so to speak.
----
Roxanne sighed heavily, practically able to see the cloud of gloom hovering over Neideen's head. Of course, the one-eyed woman knew this was just a simulation, but the experience of losing Ava and Eva was just so real that it… affected her… severely. Marching up to her ex, Roxanne decided now was a good time to take matters into her own hands.
Neideen perked up at the feel of a hand on her shoulder and turned when beckoned. Roxanne looked her in the eye, removing the former Number Nine's half helm and her own, before cupping Neideen's cheeks and giving her a legitimately loving kiss. Neideen was gobsmacked, literally, as Roxanne shoved her tongue inside of her ex's mouth and explored the orifice. The eyepatch-wearing blonde was stunned because it was so unexpected, so sudden… but not unwanted. She moaned into the kiss, eventually returning it. Of course, their little makeout session was interrupted by an unfamiliar, deep, masculine voice... that was preceded by a perverted giggle.
"Hehehehehehehe… This is GOLD! Oh, I don't know if I should be proud or envious of Naruto!" Neideen and Roxanne separated immediately - though it was Roxanne who initiated the parting, because Neideen, the perverted minx that she was, seriously didn't care if they were being watched.
"Who are you?! Where are you?!" Roxanne shouted, her silver eyes darting to every tree branch, every bush, anywhere this thing could be hiding, "I swear if you're here to fuck with us like those damn plants, I WILL shove my claymore so far up your ass you'll be tasting blood, steel, and shit!!"
Audrey blinked when the name of a certain blond registered, "Wait, you know Naruto…?"
"Know him?! Ha!"
A middle-aged man with a waist-length, spiky white ponytail and shoulder-length bangs framing his face. appeared before them. He had fair skin, coal-coloured eyes, and a good build for someone in his fifties. Upon his face were two red lines extending from his eyes and down his cheeks, resembling tears of blood, and he was decked out in a red haori with two yellow circles on each side, a green gi, and matching hakama over fishnet, with geta sandals and vambraces of the style native to the elemental nations. Upon his forehead, to finish the look was a metal-plated headband with tiny horns the kanji for oil.
He struck quite the magnificent pose upon landing, that was just as ridiculous as it was oddly charming, "I trained him! I am Jiraiya! Konoha's Toad Sage, at your service!"
"The self-proclaimed super pervert!" Neideen chirped.
"Oh-ho? My reputation precedes me?"
"Naruto mentioned you more than once," the one-eyed woman pointed out. "So did Sistina."
"Ah, speaking of your teammates," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. He snapped his fingers and the women found themselves floating in a white void as the forest faded from existence, everyone who'd been eliminate was now standing there amongst their comrades, and every woman standing before Jiraiya was now naked… because, of course, he'd do that. The dirty old man let out a lewd giggle, liking what he saw, very much. Before anyone could say anything, the barrier that separated them from the outside became like a fluid and a wide-eyed Naruto, followed by Tanya and Erica, slowly stepped inside.
"...Jiraiya-Sensei?" Naruto asked in a small voice.
The man in question gave his former student a salute and warm smile. "Yo!"
Naruto choked and looked down at the ground. His bangs shadowing his eyes. Then he growled and glared at the perverted man with righteous fury!
"....Pervy-SAGE!" He bellowed with righteous fury; then Naruto made a Rasengan and ran towards the man with the intent of bodily harm. Jiraiya let out a surprised cry and started running for his life much to the bewilderment of everyone watching. "C'MERE! AND TAKE YOUR PUNISHMENT LIKE A MAN!" Naruto roared as he chased after the retreating man.
"WHAT DID I DO!?"
"YOU WENT AND DIED ON ME, THAT'S WHAT!"
"IT'S NOT LIKE I WAS TRYING TO DO THAT!" Jiraiya let out quite the girly scream when the Rasengan nearly got him on the ass. "JUST LET ME EXPLAIN WILL YA!"
"YOU WENT TO AMEGAKURE, BY YOURSELF, AND GOT YOURSELF KILLED THERE! WHAT IS THERE TO EXPLAIN!" Naruto countered with a vengeful roar. "AND NOT ONLY THAT, I NEVER GOT TO SAY I WAS SORRY!"
That confused the man. But he didn't stop running mainly to keep himself ahead of that Rasengan his former student was trying to shove into his ass. "SORRY FOR WHAT?"
At that Naruto stopped running, and as his Rasengan dispersed, he fell to his knees and his shoulders started to jump as he started to silently cry, "...For being such a bad student…" he answered, in a meek tone.
Now that Naruto was no longer running, Jiraiya saw no reason to run away from him; though the perverted sage could have easily stopped the Rasengan, he didn't for a reason mainly out of nostalgia. Turning, the man slowly walked back to the blond, "Hey… you weren't a bad student. If anything you were the best student I ever had." He placed a hand on the young man's shoulder comfortingly and gave him a proud, massive grin. "You have no idea how impressed I am, young man!"
"Huh? ACK!" Then Naruto was pulled up into a massive bear hug, curtsy of Jiraiya himself.
"You've bagged so many gorgeous women! I'm so PROUD!"
"J-Jiraiya-Sensei! No! Can't... breathe… lungs… compressed…" Naruto complained as he made very exaggerated choking noises for anyone to believe they were real. Then he let out a breath and slumped over.
Everyone gave the blond flat looks. "...You're not fooling anyone," The Toad Sage pointed out.
And just like that Naruto sprang to life with an unhappy pout, "Darn it…" then he grinned widely and happily hugged the man.
"Eh, to be fair, we've gotten to know him enough to recognize his shenanigans when we see them," Roxanne pointed out with a shrug.
"Some more than others, but yeah," Henriette added with a nod.
"So… this is the original author of Icha Icha?" Roxanne asked, then she blinked and looked at her ex to see her practically bouncing in place… With Icha Icha: Paradise in hand. Come to think of it, where the hell had she been keeping that?! She was naked as a jaybird! Roxanne sighed, deciding she didn't want to know.
Naruto looked at them… then blinked. Then he blinked some more and gave his mentor a flat stare. "Jiraiya-Sensei… why are they naked?" he asked in the straightest voice he could muster. Then he sighed and shook his head, "Y'know what? Nevermind."
Naruto snapped his fingers and all the girls other than Tanya and Erica were clothed again… and the latter two were now naked, much to the younger one's immeasurable embarrassment as she reflexively covered up with a squeal. "Oops…" He snapped his fingers again and their clothes returned. "There we go. Sorry about that, Erica! Tanya!"
'Uh… r-right," she muttered with a nod. Truth be told, she wouldn't have minded if it weren't for Jiraiya being there.
Then Naruto saw the bouncing in place Neideen still holding the Icha Icha: Paradise book, and chuckled, "Oh yeah, you got a fan here, by the way, Jiraiya-Sensei." he said, pointing at Neideen.
"Hmm?" Jiraiya looked to the woman in question and grinned broadly. "Ho ho... I got I fan?" He's never had a woman come out and say they were a fan of his books!
"Admittedly, kinda both," she cracked.
"At least your honest," Roxanne muttered.
"Both?" Jiraiya asked, setting his Godson down. And the blond in question still doesn't know that he's reunited with his godfather.
"A play on words joke," Neideen giggled. "Hoe, where I'm from, is a slang term for a whore, though Naruto left me unable to look at another man ever again, after the romp we had."
Jiraiya giggled pervertedly at that.
"Didn't stop you from jumping every girl you see," Roxanne muttered.
"Not every girl," Neideen giggled. "Though I wouldn't mind trying, I'll admit. Morris does have no shortage of cuties, after all, ~!"
"She's also a fan of my books… which are Icha Icha books, too." Naruto added. "My first ones were mostly based on your unfinished manuscripts."
"Really?" That threw Jiraiya in for a loop, they were unfinished for a reason… he thought they went a little too far and was planning on reworking them until his untimely demise.
Naruto nodded shamelessly and with an easy-going smile. "Yeah, the books in question that were based on your unfinished manuscripts were, Icha Ichas: Taboo, Servitude and Legacy. All three were well received. I added my own afterwards called Dungeon, Journey and Conquest. All of whom are also well received. And Conquest was even turned into a movie! I'm working a couple more with the help of Neideen, Sistina and Roxanne over there."
The women in question waved at him. Neideen herself having a cheeky grin, now much happier to be in the presence of a very famous author, and teacher of Naruto.
"I have to ask," Audrey started, looking completely unsure and hesitant on what she was going to ask. "But… is he the same man that trained that… Pain, guy? The one who destroyed your home, Konoha?"
And just like that, Jiraiya went from being happy to shocked, and finally depressed.
"Konoha's… destroyed…?" Jiraiya's frowned and clenched his fist, "Nagato…" damnit, even after his sacrifice it still amounted for nothing… he really was a failure...
Sensing the self-disgust and negativity building up in the normally cheerful man Naruto knew he had to do something. And he did just that. "H-hey, Jiraiya-Sensei, it's okay! Nagato did destroy Konoha, and he did kill thousands of people, but it all worked out in the end! He…died, reviving everyone that was killed in his attack. And he did it with a smile! He even had his faith in your teachings restored at the end; he believed in you, again!"
"I see…" Jiraiya chuckled warmly at that. He didn't know why but… it felt like a weight on his shoulders had been lifted. "You redeemed him, huh?"
"Yeah, I did! When I fought him, he was incredibly tough. Even when I was using Sennin Mōdo." Then, Naruto grinned at him, "You taught him well!" then the blond began to sniff exaggeratedly, "Jiraiya-Sensei is such an amazing sensei!"
"...what's a sensei?" Erica whispered to the others. She heard Naruto say it many times but didn't ask what it meant.
"It's their way of saying 'teacher', or mentor," Sistina answered in a lecturing tone. "Naruto was taught by Jiraiya, therefore, he is Naruto's 'Sensei'. He is also Naruto's father figure."
"They're actually similar, now that I look at them," Roxanne observed with squint eyes. She could see the two of them similar eccentric personalities, and that Naruto himself was emulating the man to an extent. The adoration the blond had for him was visible for all to see, that much was clear.
Jiraiya let out a boisterous laugh, "Well, I am amazing! There's not much I can't do!"
"Though Naruto's clearly the humble one," Roxanne muttered.
"Amazing? You're awesome! You're like… the greatest man I know!" Naruto said with a wide grin. He wasn't kissing his ass, the blond legibly thought that Jiraiya was the greatest legendary figure he had ever known. And he met quite a few people who are legends in their own right.
"You're just saying that,"
"Nuh-uh! I really think you're the greatest shinobi ever."
"Ahem," Roxanne interrupted, drawing their attention to her. "Touching as this may be," she said, "I would rather my fiance show someone that kind of affection after I've had my snuggles… Neideen could use some, too, I'm guessing, though she seems to be preoccupied with gushing over your mentor."
"How can I not?!" Neideen giddily squeaked. And Jiraiya jumped in surprise when the woman literally appeared in front of him without any warning, with the translated version of Icha Icha: Paradise in her hands."Hi! I love your books! Can you sign this for me?!" she requested, saying it so fast it sounded like it was all in one word.
Jiraiya blinked owlishly, then chuckled warmly, "Alright. Why not." he took her book and opened the hardback. Then looked at his former student and asked, "Got a pen on you?"
"They don't use pens here. They use inkpots and quills." Naruto looked a bit unsure at the end, "I think that's what they're called here." then he dug into his jacket pocket and took out a scroll as he knelt down, "But I do have a 'pen' of sorts and ink on me, gimme a minute."
Naruto unfurled it and channelled his chakra into the seal matrix, revealing a quill and an ink bottle. He took them and held them out for his sensei to take.
"Thank you," taking the quill, and dipping it into the ink, Jiraiya was all too eager to sign the book for her. It was quite the odd instrument, but not too dissimilar from the ink brushes he used for fuuinjutsu - at least not so much that he couldn't manage.
His autograph was fairly simple: a crude drawing of his face, with his signature underneath it.
Naruto leaned in to take a look and couldn't help but snicker. "That's something I haven't seen in a while. It's nice to see it again."
"My signature is unique, only to me," Jiraiya proudly said, luckily the type of ink he was given dried up fairly quickly after use. He handed Neideen's book back to her once it did and she held it like it was a holy symbol. She was heavily amused to see the signature though but didn't say anything about it. Then she kissed Naruto on the cheek before scurrying back to the others. Chuckling, Naruto put everything back in the scroll and put it back into his inner jacket pocket.
"Oh!" Naruto snapped his fingers and he looked up at the man with a wide grin, "Tsunade's going to want to see you again!"
"Oh? How's she doing?"
"Admittedly? When she learned you died, she broke down. At least that's what I heard." Then Naruto pressed his hand against the floor, "I'm going to see how mom did this… gimme a moment,"