Kiyomi appeared in a flash of flame as she Hiraishined from her home. She could feel Tsunami's eyes on her due to her sudden appearance, but she ignored the woman from Wave for the moment as she angrily said, "Damn him! How dare he take their side?"
Having removed herself from the source of her anger, namely Naruto, she began to fret that her running away may not have been the best way to resolve the argument they had been having. She knew that despite Naruto's being unwilling to drop the matter of her treatment of the Taki-nin. She need not fear him following her using the Hiraishin, since she had homed in on Tsunami as she was in a room in the Den that his lovers were remodeling and had made him promise not to enter until it was finished. Therefore despite the workforce helping Tsunami renovate the apartment building that housed the secret entrance to the Den being made up of Naruto's shadow clones, she knew he valued his word to his lovers too much to break it in chasing after her.
However, appearing in the room that was to be used by the Harem to relax and entertain each other filled Kiyomi with righteous indignation that Naruto would argue with her over the Taki-nin. After all, it was she that was providing the funds so the apartment building above her could be fixed up and used as a way for Naruto to be with his lovers in a homelike environment. "Yet, despite all that I've done and am still in the midst of doing. He's picking fights with me over those pieces of trash," Kiyomi thought harshly.
She knew that when it came to the three women she tended to be irrational. But, remembering how they had nearly killed Naruto when he had only been a child and thus nearly forced her into an amnestic state like what had happened to Nel upon her reforming after the death of her jinchuriki; she felt she was entitled to her anger. Still, she suppose she should have been more discreet in her intense dislike of the women by not making it so apparent that she enjoyed having the women performing the menial tasks around her home. Especially in light of his recent attack on the Southern Wolves, she supposed she should have been prepared for Naruto's sensibilities in regards to the Taki-nin to have been heightened due to his rescue of Suiren and the other women the slave group had captured and intended to sell.
Kiyomi felt Tsunami begin to approach her so pushed her fight with Naruto out of her mind in order to show a calm and collected demeanor to Tsunami. Turning she smiled at the woman as she took in the work that had already been performed on the room. "Impressive," Kiyomi said taking in the handiwork of a half-completed stage that was being erected towards the back of the room. She smirked as she thought of some of the uses the stage would inevitably be used for.
"Thank you," Tsunami said pleased her hard work was being praised. "It's slow going since my workforce isn't allowed to come in here."
Kiyomi smiled as she knew that Tsunami's workforce was compiled of Naruto's clones. Looking around she said, "I see what you meant about the room being a little small. I'll speak with Seven about offering her assistance in knocking down the wall into the next room."
"That would be a great help," Tsunami said before pointing to the opposite one, "I'd also like to open a doorway into that room."
Kiyomi arched an eyebrow since she hadn't seen any such modification on any of the plans she had privy to asked, "Oh, what is that room going to be. It would also border on the master bedroom."
Tsunami nodded as she answered, "Well considering what goes on in the bedroom and what we expect will go on in here I think it would be appropriate to have a place to clean-up."
"I see your point," Kiyomi said with a smile that quickly faded as she wondered if she would be enjoying the nights she foresaw the room being used for.
Sensing that Naruto had left her home to begin the task that had brought him there in the first place she prepared to Hiraishin away, but was stopped as Tsunami said, "Can I speak with you about what was discussed at the Hot-Springs?" Kiyomi nodded causing the mother to say, "I can't say that I'm particularly pleased to find out that without it even first being discussed you meddled with my cells to make it so that I won't age or cannot have any children."
Kiyomi frowned, but said, "I do apologize for not consulting you and the others first. But in all honesty I figured that becoming effectively ageless would not be something anyone turned down. I do think that you are misreading the situation though in that it isn't you that is incapable of having children, but Naruto."
Tsunami inclined her head at Kiyomi's point but said, "Still do you feel that is something you have the right to decide?"
Kiyomi didn't even need to think about as she replied, "In truth the answer to that is yes, I do. If it helps you process the matter instead of thinking of it as a gift. Instead think of it as an exchange. Nobody is forcing you to accept, and while you have already received it. I can take it away from you at any point should I choose to. It isn't that any women choose to get pregnant while suddenly begin to age, but that I will strip them of the gift of remaining ageless."
"Why would you do such a thing?"
Kiyomi sighed as she felt that at any moment she may be in another heated argument so rather than responding heatedly she said, "Please try to see things from my point of view. Do you have any idea how old I am?" Tsunami shook her head, prompting the Bijuu to say, "In all honesty neither do I. But in that span of time, I've witnessed the human race grow from a few scattered settlements to covering most of the entire continent. And yet, despite the fact that at the moment there is still plenty of room for even more growth to occur, you humans have spent that entire span of time at each other's throats. Now imagine if we were to introduce a population of immortals to the equation. How long do you think it would be before people began to covet that ability to remain ageless? But even if that didn't happen in time the population of our offspring would continue to grow and grow. Unless of course we chose not to make them ageless as well, which if we did that would likely make Naruto and whichever of his lovers he impregnated feel very much like you did when you learned you would out live your child."
"But you said that once everything was settled you'd extend to him the same benefits you gave to me," Tsunami said with a hint of trepidation that Kiyomi had reconsidered.
Kiyomi inclined her head but replied, "Very true, but remember he may choose to one day start a family and refuse the gift."
"But why...why are you so insistent about this. I can understand that in time it might become a necessity. B...but surely one or two generations..."
Kiyomi shook her head before replying, "Tell me Tsunami. Say we did as you suggest until we reach the point where having children becomes no longer viable. Do you not think the generation we tell cannot have children would resent us for forcing upon them rules we did not live by?"
Tsunami frowned, but couldn't deny that what the Bijuu said would likely be accurate and while she knew they were talking about possibly thousands of years in the future. Considering she was talking to a being that already ancient she couldn't blame her taking a long view of things. Still she couldn't help feeling that perhaps there was another reason behind the Bijuu's stance on the women of the Harem having children so asked, "Is there something else motivating your decision to deny the others a chance to become mothers?"
"I'm not denying anyone anything," Kiyomi replied defensively. "I'm forcing them to make a choice. Not all choices are easy or without cost. But there is one other reason motivating me to force you and his lovers to choose." Kiyomi turned away and thought of her father before explaining, "My father decided that rather than living forever he wanted to have a family. I believe a part of the reason he became concerned about the Jyuubi escaping was because of his having children."
"So it's because your father made the choice between having eternal life or a family?"
"Not quite," Kiyomi replied, "It's because of how his descendants have behaved. Primarily his older son, who spawned the Uchiha line. My father would be disappointed to learn that his children's descendants have been at each other's throats since his passing. Which just highlights how over time people's values can change, and it might be that within a few generations we might find ourselves fighting our own flesh and blood."
"Aren't you being a tad paranoid?"
"Perhaps," Kiyomi replied, "But it only took a few months after my father died for his oldest son to raise his hand against both us Bijuu and his brother. Considering that history and human nature, I think it might be best if we don't invite our own calamities upon us." Seeing that Tsunami was considering her point, Kiyomi gave a nod before disappearing in a flash of flame. Arriving back at her home, Kiyomi began trying to figure out a way to divest herself of the Taki-nin currently responsible for her current difficulties with her lover.
*****************************
Naruto was standing outside of the weapon's shop Chan's House of Daggers with his arms crossed over a stone demon-like skull as he thought over the argument that he had experienced with Kiyomi. He felt guilty about it since it had seemingly boiled out of nowhere, although in hindsight he knew that wasn't true since the fate of the Taki-nin had long been a point of contention between Kiyomi and him. Therefore, upon arriving at her house to start a mission he had been assigned he had been unable to stop himself from confronting his Bijuu lover when he entered to see the three mind-controlled women cleaning the main entrance. But while he had known Kiyomi was using the women as live in maids, seeing it so soon after his lovers had shut down a slave operation had motivated him to speak out against his former Bijuu's treatment of the women.
Kiyomi had waved off his concern and considering his new stance that he needed to be the one calling the shots Naruto had refused to let it slide. Before he knew it both of them were yelling at each other attracting the attention of the other women in the house. A moment later Kiyomi ended the argument by Hirashining out of her mansion. Naruto would have followed, but she had entered a portion of the Den that Naruto's lovers had asked him to keep out of. Not willing to go back on the promise he had made he had left her alone, but Naruto wouldn't let the matter drop until the Taki-nin had been restored to their old selves.
Naruto could understand why Kiyomi was so hostile to the women as he remembered them quite well, even though they no longer resembled the women that had been willing to kill him in order to secure a piece of paper one of their deceased members had hidden which he had found. For several weeks after the encounter Naruto had trouble sleeping due to his actually having a brush with death. He realized that Kiyomi must have felt just as helpless as him due to her inability to supply him with chakra at that point in his life. Naruto believed that perhaps one of the reasons he had let the matter stand for so long was because of that encounter. Yet, he knew that both Kiyomi and he needed to forgive the women or else Naruto's ambition would begin to fall apart. If the two of them began to treat those that had personally wronged them differently and were unable to forgive the women then they wouldn't be able to ask the same of others.
To that end Naruto had tried to work around Kiyomi, by asking his mother to restore the Taki Kunoichi to their former selves. But his mom had informed him that while she could restore their physical bodies, their minds could only be returned to them by Kiyomi. According to his mother, Kiyomi hadn't been all that gentle when she had implanted the obedient personalities into the women, and had effectively overlaid them over their existing ones. As a result if she wasn't careful when she removed them, she could effectively destroy both leaving them effectively brain dead. She said it would be far easier for Kiyomi as she had been tampering with them since their arrival and as such would know what steps needed to be taken to remove the programmed personalities. Naruto sighed since he knew getting his Bijuu lover to listen was likely going to be a world class headache. But he had set his mind to it and wouldn't let up until she listened to him.
His sigh caused the diminutive Nel to look over her shoulder with a sad look since she feared Naruto might be upset with her. "Naruto," she said timidly, "you're not still angry at Nel are you."
Naruto looked down at the child-like Bijuu. He could see in her watery gaze that she might start crying if he didn't answer her soon. He put a wide smile on his face as he figured Nel had read his quiet and contemplative demeanor to mean that he was angry at her. Looking at the stone demon-skull he had effectively bought, since Nel had accidently destroyed the statue it had been a part of after wandering off while he was guiding her sisters around the village, Naruto chuckled. Crouching down to Nel, he said, "Don't worry, it was an accident. Believe me; I know a little something about causing trouble for people but not really meaning too." Naruto gave the skull he held another look and noticing the inside was hollow placed it on top of Nel's head. "Here you can keep it as a gift." He chuckled as it was oversized for her head, but from the way Nel beamed he knew she appreciated the gesture. Pulling a spare cloth he kept in case the one his Leaf Forehead protector was affixed to ever was damaged, he strapped it inside the makeshift helmet so that Nel could tie it to her head. Once it was secure he gave it a test rub and said, "I'm sure you'll grow into it."
"Ha, they've got you babysitting now," a brash voice Naruto recognized called out.
Looking passed Nel, Naruto let a smile he was sure confused Kiba appear as he said, "I guess it can't be helped considering that I'm still a genin."
Kiba approached to continue his teasing as Naruto stood, but stopped as the young girl he was with quickly climbed up the blond's back and once she could stare at the Inuzuka from over the jinchuriki's shoulders gave him a pointed glare that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. His nin-dog partner Akamaru began to whimper confirming that despite the girl's innocent appearance she possessed a great degree of chakra. Kiba felt a growl in the back of his throat since he wasn't going to be intimidated by some kid, but before he did his attention was pulled to the entrance of the Weapon Shop as a voice called, "Naruto..."
A buxom blonde giddily skipped out of the shop before giving a spin making sure to pull Naruto's attention to the sheathed blade strapped to her back. "I didn't know you were in the market for a blade, Rangiku."
"I know, and in actuality I just bought a handle and sheath." Rangiku said before pulling the sword. Holding her hand to the back of the blade Naruto watched as it grew hazy before turning into ash.
Realizing that she was simply compacting her ash to make it appear like a solid blade, he said, "Impressive," while she made it solid once more before sheathing it.
Nel seeing Naruto's reaction puffed out her cheeks as she said, "No fair! Nel wants a sword too."
Rangiku reached over Naruto's shoulder to flick her sister on the nose before saying, "Well if you didn't decide to play hide and seek in that art gallery which you trashed with a mini-Beast Ball. Then maybe we would have let you go into the store."
"Nel was startled by the creepy statue," the Bijuu replied referring to the statue she had turned to see after avoiding a frantically searching Naruto and whose head she now wore.
Naruto laughed while Nel continued to pout as he recalled running passed the store in question only for it to explode a moment later. Finding Nel sitting on her rear, amidst the destruction he had just collected her when the angry store clerk had approached him with a hastily constructed bill.
Kiba annoyed at being ignored was about to speak up, but then felt his jaw drop as more beauties began to emerge from the store. The first was a dark skinned blond who walked regally with her arms folded just below her impressive bust. Following behind her were three other women that carried themselves as some sort of retainers or bodyguards.
Another dark skin woman with white hair followed after her, but unlike the first four that emerged she was bereft of any type of weapons. Naruto surprised Kiba as he spoke like he knew the woman, "Couldn't find anything you like Urd."
The woman gave him a soft smile before replying, "No, they were all very crude. I think I'll find a more subtle way of harming my foes." Naruto wasn't sure what she meant, but he had noticed that Urd seemed rather engrossed with the autopsy that had been performed on the false Rin and had asked Shizune and Sakura about some of the experiments they were performing.
Again before Kiba could interject himself into the conversation another pair of voices cut in. The Inuzuka watched as yet another pair of women stepped from the shop. He could see the dark haired woman adjusting a short blade that she had likely just purchased. Kiba recognized the other woman as Yoruichi from around the village as well as from her efforts in protecting it and who was walking next to the dark haired woman. She sent a glower at the pleased look on her companions face. Commenting on how she negotiated a cheaper price for the weapon, she said, "You know Kukaku if you truly wanted to convince him to drop the price perhaps you should have just sucked him off."
"Come off it Yoruichi," Kukaku said angrily, "You're just pissed that I refuse to spread my legs for Na..."
Yoruichi saw that they weren't alone so gave in to the temptation that she was feeling and had been ever since her sister began flaunting her numerous sexual encounters with strangers slugged Kukaku sending her flying. Kukaku crashed into some boxes which she smashed as she fell on them and sent a dangerous glare towards the purple-haired Bijuu. Shooting to her feet, she flared her chakra as she said dangerously, "You've just made a very big mistake kitty."
Yoruichi was more than ready to meet her sister's charge as she said, "Then bring it you knuckle dragger."
Before the two women could start battling Tier shunshined between them as she said, "Ladies, I don't think our employer or the members of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation squad that cleared us to move here are going to be pleased if we cause a ruckus a few days after entering the village."
Kukaku continued to glare, but then noticed Kiba staring at them. Guessing that Yoruichi actions were as much as to protect her and Kiyomi's secrets as to show her displeasure at her actions simply stated, "Tier's right." Relaxing she moved passed her sister before directing a lusty stare at Kiba and running a finger under his jaw said, "Oh you're rather cute. Perhaps we could..."
"Naruto," Rangiku said speaking over her sister before she could provoke Yoruichi further, "I want to go clothes shopping. I think it would also be a good idea to get Lady Kiyomi's new employees some new clothes as well."
Tier stepped up near Kukaku as she said calmly, but with a sternness that suggest to Kukaku that it would be in her best interest to behave, "A most agreeable idea. I think it would be a nice change to wear clothes that were made for me."
Kukaku pulled away from Kiba to meet her blonde sister's eyes. Finding that once again she was the odd Bijuu out she said, "I suppose we're all in agreement then." She then began to walk away followed by her sisters.
Naruto gave the star struck Kiba an amused smile before saying, "Well I guess I'll go back to my babysitting. Take care of yourself Kiba."
Kiba watched the jinchuriki go wondering why it was that as of late every time he saw the blond he felt a desire to prove himself an equal of the jinchuriki. While he knew it could easily be attributed to the fact that ever since his defeat at Naruto's hands in the Chunin Exams he had been falling further and further behind the blond. Something told him that there was more to it than that, something which revolved around how Hinata had seemed to grow out of her shyness, and something which had happened despite the fact that her longtime crush was currently seeing someone. This had been something that Kiba had believed would have been devastating news to the Hyuuga. Finding hers, as well as quite a few of the kunoichi that he knew behaviors suspect, he decided it was time to get some of his questions answered. He chuckled to himself as he thought that while he was at it maybe he could arrange to find out why his mom's attitude had improved over the past year.
*****************************
Tsunade and Tenten appeared on the teleporter seal which was located in the basement of Kiyomi's mansion. The two women paused for a moment to watch as massive stone beetles created by Seven excavated a tunnel which would ultimately connect the Mansion, Hot Spring Grotto, and soon the Den together. Tsunade felt that it was a prudent move just in case for whatever reason the seals were knocked out of commission. The Bijuu in charge of the project turned towards the two and gave an amused smile at the haggard state Tenten was in due to the training that they had just wrapped up. Then with a quick nod she turned back towards her work as a formerly hollow stone beetle emerged from the passage having filled itself with the dirt and stone of the tunnel being dug. The Bijuu raised her open hand and then clenching it in a fist which collapsed the beetle as it compacted the material within it until it was no bigger than a medium sized rock.
The two kunoichi turned away as one of the other beetles in the room, began to move into the tunnel to replace the just destroyed one. Tenten felt a sense of giddiness as she climbed the steps up to the mansion proper since she was going to get to meet another of her idols, Mito Uzumaki. "I really can't believe I get to meet your grandmother," Tenten said excitedly as she reached the top of the steps.
Tsunade smiled as she watched her new apprentice seem to get over the tiredness she had been exhibiting just moments before as she sensed their getting closer to the red-headed woman. Tsunade had been surprised to learn that her apprentice apparently had quite the extensive knowledge of her grandmother's exploits. Having left the village with her team shortly after the recent Hot Spring gathering of Naruto's lovers, Tenten had missed out on the return of Mito. She had only just learned about her during their training that day as she had inquired about the new woman she had felt enter the Harem.
As they approached the dining room, where they could feel both Naruto and Mito were occupying, Tsunade felt a desire to caution Tenten about not pressing her grandmother to hardly on her past exploits since she knew Mito tended not to like being reminded of her role in the village. She was rather glad she didn't as they entered the dining room since she was sure the last thing Tenten expected to see was Mito on her knees in front of the chair Naruto was sitting in as she licked and teased his cock.
The red-head had apparently been at it for some time as Naruto suddenly raised his hips while Mito swallowed his length to capture the eruption. "I'm cumming," Naruto said as he buried his hands in Mito's hair as he flooded her mouth.
Tsunade smirked at Tenten's opened mouth stare as Mito stood as nobly as the history books had claimed about her despite the sex act she had just performed. Tenten though quickly recovered having witnessed her idol as well as the other strong women of the village act in a similar manner. Approaching she stuck out her hand as she said, "It's an honor to meet you Lady M..."
Mito grabbed the offered hand and pulled Tenten into a kiss where she shared the cum that she had just caught with her mouth and had intended to share with her granddaughter. Tenten stiffened in her arms but soon relaxed into the kiss as they passed the thick white substance between them. Mito pulled back first leaving a strand of cum and spit to hang between them as she stared into Tenten's eyes which had clouded over with lust. When the strand snapped Tenten seemed to recover her senses aided by Mito saying, "Please, none of that Lady nonsense attributed to my first life. I'm just Mito Uzumaki."
Tenten nodded, but nonetheless said, "I...I'm sorry. It's just I was really hoping that I could speak to you. It's like a dream come true to speak with the woman who defeated the Bone Witch of the Kaguya clan."
Mito's eyes went wide as a smile appeared since she knew most Konoha-nin had been led to believe she had merely been an adequate kunoichi whose true claim to fame was being married to the First Hokage. "Y-you heard about that?"
"I wrote a paper on it in the academy" Tenten said proudly. But a little bitterness slipped into her tone as she added, "I got an F on it because they said it didn't fit with what was known about you in the official history."
"How did you hear about it Tenten?" Naruto asked curious since Mito had told them her history had been expunged by the Second Hokage to keep her true level of skill a secret.
"I read about it in the records room," Tenten said moving to sit at the dinner table along with Mito and Tsunade. "There are more than just Konoha's records there. After battles sometimes the enemies' documents would be captured or personal items that contained history on the various clans that might one day confront the village."
"Still you would think the Second Hokage would censor those accounts for any mention of Mito," Naruto responded.
Tenten shrugged, as she replied, "He might already have, but keep in mind we're still capturing intelligence and enemy shinobi all the time. He couldn't leave a standing order with others to erase her history without it looking suspicious, so plenty of information on Mito exists there. Probably since a lot of it was gathered after he died."
"But what first made you interested in my history," Mito said pleased to hear some of her adventures from her time before becoming Hashirama's wife still existed.
"Well," Tenten said a little embarrassed and amused, "My teacher gave us a project to write about a famous shinobi we would like to emulate. He also gave me a not so subtle hint that I should try to do a paper on someone other than Tsunade." Turning to her fellow Harem member and teacher she added, "I decided to look into some of your relatives, there was a Toka Senju who was killed in a battle against the Uchiha shortly before Konoha's founding. She was a cousin of the First and Second Hokages. But when I was going through the official records I started to notice how there was so little mentioned of your grandmother. I just couldn't imagine that back during the Warring Clan days the Senju would allow the First Hokage to marry some minor unproven kunoichi."
"Therefore I wrote about your feud with the Bone Witch, Kocho Kaguya. I ended up finding some old journal entries taken from a Kaguya that had been killed during the First Shinoibi War in an action against Konoha." Tenten turned to face Mito as she explained, "In it he described how you and she had fought several times and despite your only being ten years old you managed to defeat a contingent of her personal guard. As well as your ultimately defeating her and then sealing her remains."
A picture of the woman flashed before Mito as she recalled the light brownish hair and red-eyed woman that for a time had ruled the Kaguya. Recalling her final victory and commenting on Tenten's mentioning of her age, Mito said, "Age was not exactly something that mattered back then. Sadly by that age I had already been a veteran of many conflicts. A great deal of them was against those barbarians the Kaguya."
"Really," Naruto said leaning forward in interest, "why?"
Mito shrugged before replying, "Hard to say. Every clan seemed to have a rival of which they clashed against the most often. The Senju had the Uchiha, and we Uzumaki had the Kaguya. I often believed that it was the Kaguya that sacked Uzushiogakure. But, I would admit that it could just be my prejudice against them. None of the survivors I ever ran across could mention the attackers, but most of those whom I talked to were just children at the time. When the attack happened I was living with Hashirama among the Senju."
"Well the Uzumaki's rivalry with the Kaguya appears to have been settled," Tsunade said to distract her grandmother from the sadness she felt at the destruction of her homeland. "The last Kaguya appears to have died in the service of Orochimaru several years ago."
"Really," Mito said surprised, "I was of the belief they served the Mizukage. Did Mist finally grow tired of trying to control them?"
"You could say that," Tsunade answered, "The Fourth Mizukage eventually instigated a blood limit purge. From what we've learned one of the reasons for it was due to an attack carried out against Kirigakure by the Kaguya. It's possible they saw the writing on the wall first."
"That's not so hard to believe," a new voice cut in, "People can often tell when they aren't truly welcomed." Mikoto watched as those present turned to look at her before adding, "In those circumstances it's only a matter of time before those being excluded lash out."
"Perhaps," Mito said guardedly, "But by doing so they also tend to confirm the other parties fears of them."
Mikoto frowned at the Uzumaki. But she let the matter drop as she focused on Naruto to say, "If you're waiting on Kiyomi to return you're wasting your time"
"I heard," Naruto said with a frown, "She's left the village to see how things are going back in Wave with the restoration of the Whirling Tides Manor. She's also hired a team of Genin to guard her during her journey. I'm guessing the genin are there to prevent us from picking up our discussion from earlier."
"Miya is also traveling with her," Mikoto added as she took a seat at the table.
Naruto wasn't sure what Kiyomi wanted Miya to accompany her for, but was more concerned with his lovers taking steps to prevent them from trying to settle their disagreement over the Taki-nin. He sighed at his lover's willfulness, but before he could give the matter much thought a newcomer entered the room saying, "Tsunade, I need to discuss with you the upcoming vote to end the embargo against Kumo. As we feared the Hyuuga are..."
Koharu trailed off as she noticed Mikoto and although showing off her younger self, she had often tried to avoid being in the presence of the Uchiha. Koharu was about to quickly finish her point before collecting Tsunade and leaving, but Mito having a sense of Déjà vu suddenly realized who she was looking at blurted happily, "Koharu, it's so good..."
She trailed off though as the room's temperature seemed to drop suddenly as Mikoto said with a growing anger, "Koharu..." She shot to her feet, throwing her chair back, as she faced the deaged elder and now realizing why something about the brown-haired woman had bothered her whenever she had caught a glimpse of her, activated her Sharingan. Seeing the elder standing before her deaged caused her to experience another realization as she turned her angry gaze to Naruto as she said, "Were you ever going to tell me that one of the butchers of my clan was also a lover of yours?"
"I had, but couldn't think of a way to bring up the subject," Naruto said preparing to move in case Mikoto attacked his lover.
Mikoto watched Naruto get to his feet and aware that she likely would not be able to attack the woman considering the number of opponents forced herself to calm. But facing Naruto, she said, "I'm leaving this place. I also want you to remove that mark you're using to keep track of me."
"Where will you go?" Naruto asked concerned that she didn't plan to go anywhere, but once free of a means of tracking her would move to attack Koharu.
"That's no longer any concern of yours," Mikoto countered turning back to face Koharu. "I can do whatever I very well please."
Naruto frowned, but confident he could protect Koharu if necessary and that holding Mikoto against her will would be wrong said, "As you wish." He then made a handsign which caused the mark on Mikoto's ankle to vanish. A moment later the Uchiha stormed out of the room but those present doubted she planned to travel very far.
*****************************
Koharu sighed contently as she sank into the water of the hot springs located on the grounds of Kiyomi's mansion. It had only been an hour since Mikoto had learned that the brunette that occasionally visited the springs was also one of the people that had passed judgment on her clan. After the Uchiha had left, presumably to leave the mansion, Koharu had returned to the subject of what had brought her to the mansion in the first place. She had known Naruto wanted to discuss what had just happened, but Koharu had assured him there was no need to worry. She was an S-class Shinobi, and had faced quite a few opponents that had personal vendettas against her. She believed that if push came to shove she'd be able to handle the enraged Uchiha.
Naruto hadn't been happy, but had relented as she had explained that what had brought her to the mansion was her concern over the state of where things laid over the issue of the council voting to drop the trade embargo with Kumo. An embargo which had been in place ever since the failed kidnapping of Hinata. Yet despite the current good will that was being accrued between the two villages, the embargo remained firmly in place and if the Hyuuga had their way it would remain so. Koharu frowned since despite the Hyuuga not having the votes, they did possess enough sway that even if the embargo was dropped it would likely unofficially remain in place.
This was because as the most wealthy and influential clan in the village, very few businesses would engage in activities that may upset them. Therefore, even with the Great Tree Shipping Company being willing to open trade routes to Kumo in thanks to Karin being in charge, it would do them very little good if they had nothing to sell due to merchants being unwilling to anger the Hyuuga. Koharu had met with Hiashi to discuss the matter and although he at least appeared willing to consider the matter with an open ear. The Elders of his clan seemed unwilling to move from their staunch opposition to it. Koharu sensed that Hiashi might be willing to go against his Elders, but he would likely require something in return.
Koharu planned to meet with him again in a few days to learn what sort of bargain they could reach. Provided that she was still alive in a few days, since she knew that if Mikoto planned to avenge her clan, by killing the last living elder to have a role in her clan's demise, she would need to strike quickly, lest people begin to question why she had not left the village. She tensed as she heard footsteps approach but relaxed as she felt the presence of her lover. Naruto with a towel wrapped around his waist looked at her for a moment before asking, "You're tempting fate don't you think?"
Koharu smiled as she replied, "Perhaps, but if she's going to come at me then it would be best if she did it here. Instead of say in the middle of the village where we would have to explain why a supposedly deceased kunoichi suddenly popped up with a desire to kill me."
Naruto grunted as he questioned, "And the bathing I take it is to invite an attack when you would be unarmed?"
Koharu arched an eyebrow as she replied, "Naruto, I'm a kunoichi of quite some renown. Just because I'm naked, in a bath, doesn't mean I'm vulnerable."
Naruto tossed his towel away before climbing into the water to join his lover. Sliding up next to her, he pulled her close as he said, "Still, I would prefer not to see you be put to the test."
Koharu placed her head on his shoulder before saying, "Then perhaps you shouldn't have removed the seal that would let me know if she was near." Naruto chuckled weakly at his lover's comment before she kissed him on the cheek as she added, "Although I understand why you did. You didn't wish to make her feel like she was still a prisoner."
"That's partly it," Naruto said before pausing as he considered how to phrase his reasoning. After several moments he added, "I guess I'm hoping that by removing it. It shows that I trust her to do the right thing."
"By not murdering me," Koharu said with a smirk.
"That's what I hope," Naruto replied although his tone was serious. The two lovers lapsed into silence before Naruto said, "There's something I've been meaning to ask." Koharu turned to look at him hearing the importance with which he considered the question he wanted to ask. When she nodded, he asked, "It was Itachi that came up with the plan to eliminate the Uchiha, wasn't it?" Koharu's eyes went wide in her surprise at Naruto's question. Taking her reaction to mean that he was right he asked, "Why keep up the ruse, especially now. If you explained to M..."
"Explain to her what? That it was her oldest son that came to us with the plan to eliminate the Uchiha." Koharu looked away before directing her attention to the moon as she added, "What mother wants to hear that her child planned and carried out her elimination along with that of her husband and clan? In her view, we put Itachi in a difficult position forcing him to choose between family and village. She can likely forgive him for being loyal to the village. But his actually being the architect of the massacre... if she needs a villain then I'll gladly fill the role. It's the least that I can do for Itachi." Naruto frowned at his lover especially since he stood to come out the loser in her decision to hide Itachi's role as the massacre's mastermind. Koharu curious about her lover's insight asked, "How did you come to realize the truth?"
"I began to suspect it as I came to realize that it was rather strange for Homura, and Danzou to be caught so unaware by Itachi's sparing Sasuke."
"Why aren't you including me in that estimate?"
"Because, I heard from Komachi that Homura admitted that it took a lot of convincing to bring you on board for the plan. But those two likely jumped at the chance which led me to wonder about where were the plans within plans that I've come to expect from them." Naruto paused as he thought he heard something shift nearby, but not hearing it repeat he continued, "I mean within days of his plan to use the prison as a base of rebellion falling apart. Danzou had already schemed a way to turn things to his advantage by starting a war between us and Kumo. Yet when Itachi deviated from his orders by sparing Sasuke, he seemed completely unprepared. It was something that had been bothering me for some time, until I realized that the reason was because Danzou didn't come up with the plan. If he had, he would have likely stationed Root Anbu as back-up to eliminate any survivors, including Sasuke, before anyone else could arrive. That he didn't, tells me that he had no reason to believe Itachi would spare anyone. That seemed rather strange considering how distrustful he was. The only reason I could come up with is because Itachi approached him with the idea and as such, he had no reason to doubt his sincerity in carrying out the task."
Koharu stared at him in amazement, before looking away as she sadly admitted, "You're not wrong."
Naruto frowned as he said, "When you confessed your involvement you made it sound like the three elders conspired with Itachi to eliminate the Uchiha. Why would you not tell me that it was his idea?"
Koharu grimaced at the anger that had seeped into Naruto's voice. But meeting his stare she answered, "Because, I felt Itachi deserved to be rewarded for his loyalty by letting it be believed that it was us elders that forced him to act. That way if Sasuke ever did learn the truth, he'd at least find some sort of way to understand why his brother did what he did."
"But..."
"I know," Koharu said sadly, "Now it appears to be something that Tobi has used to convince Sasuke that his brother was a victim in all this. But, I've thought about why he, Itachi, acted the way he did a great deal. I finally came to the conclusion that he hoped to break the distrust Konoha felt towards the Uchiha as a result of Madara's betrayal."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it," Koharu said before lapsing into silence.
Naruto did as instructed and seeing what he believed his lover did said, "He hoped to make Sasuke the last Uchiha. Not to be an avenger, but to allow the Uchiha to be reborn as a part of the village."
"Yes," Koharu said proudly, "that is what I believe motivated him. Itachi first began to act cold towards his clan, including his brother by distancing himself from them. By killing his clan and letting Sasuke survive, he likely believed his brother would apply himself to becoming a great shinobi of the village in order to one day confront him. Then once Sasuke had killed him, the greatest traitor since Madara, Itachi likely believed the village would come to embrace his brother. And thus, any children he would have thereby making the Uchiha a true part of the village."
"Except, you can't control what hatred will do to a person," Naruto said feeling depressed about the whole affair. "It turned Sasuke into a person who's only ever been interested in taking whatever steps were necessary to get him closer to his goals. Including betraying the village..."
"And trying to kill the closest friend he had," Koharu said shifting herself to sit on Naruto's lap as she placed a hand where a Chidori had once pierced. "Itachi failed to account for the simple truth that even when focusing his brother's hatred on him, that it could also bleed into how Sasuke conducted himself."
Naruto nodded but then said, "It's something you're guilty of yourself."
"W-what?!"
"It's very noble of you for trying to protect Itachi's image in his mother's eyes. But if she does decide to attack you as a result...it would be as a result of your trying to control and direct her anger. I'm going to tell Mikoto the truth about what happened."
"Naruto...you should let her believe..."
"No," Naruto said sternly, "These false paths that have been built on good intentions have just led to more misunderstandings and hatreds. I'm not willing to sacrifice you to protect Itachi's image, but I'm equal unwilling to let Mikoto succumb to her hatred so she can believe that her son was forced to act as he did."
Koharu was about to argue the point, but seeing the determination in her lover's eyes simply nodded as she said, "I understand. But what makes you believe she'll believe you."
"I don't know that she will," Naruto conceded. "But I'm hoping that she'll recognize the truth if she hears it."
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Naruto had chosen to sleep alone that night, although he had wished to stay by Koharu's side. But the elder had preferred to remain alone herself in hopes of presenting an easy target should Mikoto decide to settle the grudge between them. Before returning to his temporary residence at the hotel room that he had been assigned since Pain's Invasion, Naruto had gone to Mikoto's room to tell her the truth about Itachi's role in the clan massacre. Sadly, he had found no sign of the Uchiha.
Needless to say, sleep had been difficult to come by as a result, but eventually it had, although with a little help. He wanted to believe the best about Mikoto. That she had just been angry at learning how close he actually was to one of the people responsible for her clan's destruction. But her disappearance left him with the concern that Koharu was correct and the Mikoto knew that if she was going to have any chance of successfully killing the elder she would have to move quickly. Naruto had wanted to stake out his lover's home in hopes that Mikoto's window of opportunity would close or she would calm. However, Koharu would know he was near and she had made it quite clear she wished to settle the matter on her own.
Little did either of them realize though that Mikoto had another idea of how she could harm Koharu. That idea was the reason that she was standing over a sleeping Naruto, clutching the makeshift blade she had forged since Kiyomi did not like the idea of the Uchiha having access to weapons in her home. Mikoto would have laughed if it wouldn't have woken the young man who she was entertaining thoughts of killing, since it appeared Kiyomi was right not to trust her. She knew it would be a betrayal of him considering how he had planned to free her from the Leaf Maximum Security Prison. She also knew that it would likely end her best friend or diminish her in a similar capacity as seemed the death of the jinchuriki that had housed Nel did to the three-tails. In a way Mikoto would have considered it a blessing since then her friend would likely not know of how she had been betrayed.
Mikoto felt tears gathering in her eyes as she could imagine Kushina's disproval of the thoughts running through her head. The Uchiha wondered if the Curse of Hatred that afflicted her clan had infected her as the truth was she harbored no ill will towards Naruto for keeping it a secret that he was involved with Koharu. As she knew her reaction and the dark thoughts currently taking hold in her heart were proof enough that she didn't deserve or could handle the truth. But, she just so desperately wished to hurt Koharu and felt ending the young jinchuriki that she apparently loved would be the most fitting punishment.
She was about to heft the blade over her head when a light snapped on in the room temporarily blinding her. She dropped the blade into a ready guard to defend herself from the attack that was sure to follow, but to her surprise a voice said, "It's always such a pity when people allow the darkness in their hearts to control them. I believe if you were thinking clearly you would agree."
"Mito," Mikoto said turning to face the woman who was sitting in a chair in a relaxed manner, "H-how?"
"A little known fact about me is I can sense the darkness that takes root in people and can as a result read their intentions. Your anger at Koharu isn't without merit, but is it enough to justify murdering the son of your best friend? Or the young man who freed you?"
Mikoto couldn't meet the Uzumaki's eyes as she responded, "S-she deserves to know the pain of losing someone that she cares about. It was no doubt easy for her to condemn my family to death since the only thing she had cared about back then was the village."
"Perhaps not so much as you might think," Mito said after a moment. "I took the liberty of eavesdropping on a conversation between Naruto and her. It would seem that the one that first suggested your clan be eliminated was your son, Itachi."
"Y-you lie..." Mikoto said weakly suggesting to Mito that a part of the Uchiha had long ago recognized the truth of the matter.
"I think we both know I gain very little by lying to you," Mito replied calmly.
"Y-you're trying to save your new lover's life," Mikoto said harshly trying to keep ahold of the anger she felt.
"I had already done that long before you showed up."
Mikoto was surprised by the statement so looked at Naruto as she activated her Sharingan. Her Kekkei Genkai revealed the seal that was likely why Naruto was still asleep despite the argument going on. But also a powerful barrier that surrounded him. Mikoto realized that if she had struck at the blond the barrier would have likely reduced her to ash.
Realizing that Mito could have just let her destroy herself she asked, "Why, why did you stop me?"
Mito shrugged as she said, "I suppose as a means of honoring my husband's wish that the Uchiha not be treated as villains. A desire that is also shared by the man I am now bound to as well. You see, despite what Tobirama believed and perhaps you do as well there is no Curse of Hatred that rules over the Uchiha clan. It's an excuse that was conjured up to allow a person to succumb to the darkness inside them while honoring the memory of who they were."
"Y-you can't be sure of that."
"Oh really, well if there was something like that which caused grieving Uchiha's to succumb to evil then I would say Tobirama was right to treat your clan as he did. After all, if it was suspected that a shinobi might become mentally unstable if certain conditions are met, then wouldn't it be prudent of him to take steps to make sure those conditions can't be triggered? I cannot deny that the Uchiha unlock great powers through the grief they experience at the death of a loved one. I've seen it happen quite a few times on the battlefield. But they do not lose control of their faculties; instead I believe that through the power they gain they are convinced of the rightness of their actions no matter how terrible. And as they succumb more and more to their desires to inflict pain onto those that they feel have wronged them, they lose more of their humanity in turn."
"You're saying that the Curse of Hatred that affects the Uchiha is nothing more than a lie?"
Standing Mito began to approach the Uchiha as she said, "Nothing is as powerful as a lie which most accept as truth and which allows one to act as they wish."
Tears began to pour from Mikoto's eyes before she finally said, "I-I don't know what I should do. How did everything become so fucked up? W-why couldn't I just live the simple life that Kushina and I wished for ourselves and children?"
Mito slowly closed the distance between them so as to not startle the woman and when she was right in front of her quickly placed her hand against the Uchiha's forehead as she applied a seal that put her to sleep. Catching the unconscious woman she said, "First, I think you need to sleep. In time, I think you will find a way to be happy again."
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