Talk at the Bridge.
Tazuna's Bridge
Nami no kuni, a month after Juzo Biwa's demise, Kurenai walked down toward the bridge being built by their client. She was in the middle, with Yugao-chan and Gekkō-kun flanking her, the three genin under her care were slightly in front of her. The violette Hyuga was walking to her right, directly in front of Yugao, and Kurenai, could not have been more proud of her surrogate sister, for the strides she has made in her training than if Hinata was her actual sister. She has honed her taijutsu skill to almost A-ranked quality, she doubted there were any genin in Konoha, that could stop her when she used her taijutsu, and that was without her dojutsu or Shindō no kankaku. When she used one or both of those birthrights, she had proven to be a tough opponent, even for the advanced ninja of their group to fight. Couple that with the use of her elemental chakra, use of sensory genjutsu, her Wave clones and Flash clones, and she could take on and hold her own with all three of the advanced fighters. All that was left, was for her to gain some battle experience, and she had the possibility of eclipsing even the strength of Tsunade-sama.
Kurenai moved her gaze from Hinata, to her rosette kunoichi and another romantic rival, for her other genin's heart, Sakura no Konoha. As always, when looking at the young woman, Kurenai's thoughts and feelings toward her were conflicted, on one hand there was pride and admiration, for Sakura. They had all dismissed her as nothing more than a fan-girl, hoping that by sucking up to certain members of certain clans, they could marry into said clan and reap the rewards and benefits that came with their new station in life. Serious kunoichi looked upon those women with barely concealed contempt. They were the ones that contributed to the belief in most civilians' minds, that kunoichi were effectively useless on the battlefield, and could only be dangerous when they slept with their opponent. Which was how Sakura's own parents thought and had tried to instill that belief in their own daughter.
Well, Sakura had fooled them all, with the possible exception of Kurenai's other best friend, Anko. Sakura had her own mind and wanted to be a modern kunoichi, but her parents' beliefs were so ingrained in their minds, they refused to let her train in anything they considered improper for a young lady to practice. They all but pushed her at the Uchiha in her class, but Sakura was stubborn, and had her own mind. She wanted to be a real kunoichi, not just a fan-girl hussy, so she took to sneaking out of her house at night to go and train in the things her parents, were too short-sighted to let her practice at home. She was only able to practice with the Academy taijutsu style, and a few kunai and shuriken she was able to smuggle behind their backs. They actually contributed greatly to their little girl's training, though they never even realized it, they aided her in training her stealth and evasion skills, as well as her skills at deception. As far as they knew, their daughter was intelligent but weak, they only allowed her to do her Academic work at home, and for four years, that's how she trained.
She would do, chakra control, ninjutsu practice, forms training, and throwing practice at night, with a little sparring, whenever she would go over to Ino's house without her parents. She only pretended to have a crush on Sasuke, so she deceived not only her parents, and the whole class, but the whole village as well, including the one that Sakura actually had a crush on. She did all of that on her own, with some occasional cover by Ino, for a total of four years, and she was average in skill and strength for her class. When she was ten, Sakura came to the attention of another kunoichi of the Leaf, and one of Kurenai's best friends, Mitarashi Anko, another pariah of the village, along with Naruto.
Anko has never given Kurenai, Yugao, or Hana, a real definitive reason for taking such an interest in the rosette's development, and they never really found out about it, until after Sakura told her mother off the day of her graduation. All they knew at the time, on some nights when they would be out on a girl's night, Anko would disappear at some point during the night, and if she could not do that, she blatantly called it an early evening, usually citing work the next day, or that she had a hot piece of ass waiting for her, tied up at an undisclosed location. They were none the wiser, their best friend was known for her chaotic temperament and unpredictable behavior, so they never thought anything about it as anything other than, Anko being Anko. For two years, she trained Sakura in her hebi taijutsu style, and everything else she would need to be a formidable warrior. Anko instilled a sense of kunoichi pride in Sakura, which formed into a strong bond between the two women, the only person Sakura regards in higher esteem than Anko is Naruto Uzumaki.
Which is where we find the other hand in her relationships with Sakura and Hinata. In this hand we find envy and… Kurenai would not say animosity, she does not hate Sakura at all, and she could never have anything but love for Hinata, if it came down to it, Kurenai would willingly share anything with the violette, even her man. How can you hate someone for falling in love with the same man you fell for? Kurenai's feelings for the blonde were quite a surprise even to herself, they came on so suddenly that she has often wondered if she may be under a genjutsu. She wondered about it enough, that she sought out the patriarch of the Kurama clan, to make sure that she was not being forced to love Naruto. She may be the genjutsu mistress of Konoha, but the members of the Kurama clan lived and breathed that discipline from the moment they were born.
Kurenai turned her head to look at her last student, the only male under her tutelage, and the only man since she was a genin, she has ever felt love for. She may have felt burgeoning feelings for Sarutobi-sama's son, Asuma, before he left for the capitol, but she had forgotten about them over the years. Then, he died protecting the daimyo from betrayal by his own guards, and her feelings for him ended as she mourned him as a fellow Konoha-nin and moved on with her life. Then when she was fourteen, one of her best friends, found her nephew living in squalor on the streets of Konoha, a victim of the fools that infested the government at that time. He was the jinchuriki of the Kyūbi no kitsune, the most powerful biju of them all, it has been said that if the one through the seven-tails, wherever they may be, joined forces to battle the nine, they would all lose. Unless they somehow allied with the Hachibi would they even have a chance of winning, and the council ran the risk of alienating him, to the point that if he ever contacted the fox, he might have been tempted to release it, just to stop suffering. If that had happened, their village would have been destroyed, not even Jiraiya-sama was skilled enough at sealing to recapture the kyūbi, if it had broken loose, and there was only one Uzumaki left that could have held it.
Kurenai, at first, would baby-sit the young Uzumaki, when Yugao would be on a mission, and later, during the basic training, and subsequent missions of ANBU. She helped Naruto better control his chakra while he was at the Academy, and as much as Yugao, taught him how to treat women, especially kunoichi. She watched him grow into the ninja art genius, he is today, and grew to admire his tenacity, when he failed the Genin Graduation Exam, twice. He may have been a genius with ninjutsu, and as an Uzumaki he was a natural genius with seals, something that he got from both of his parents, but that did not stop him from putting in the hard work, needed to become a ninja, and even when he failed, he never gave up. That was something Kurenai admired about Naruto. He was a genius at ninjutsu and fuinjutsu, but he did not allow it to make him arrogant, he still took time to learn and perfect those arts, which because of his aptitude, came easily to him, but Naruto liked to challenge himself. The ninja and sealing arts came easily to him, so he practiced his taijutsu, his kenjutsu, and his bukijutsu, until he raised those skills to be equal to the first two arts, and that is not even accounting for his three, now four bloodlines.
Kurenai knew Naruto had developed a crush on her, from being around him so much in the beginning, he found her to be beautiful, sure. Something she had been told since she became a Genin, which she has learned to use to her advantage on certain missions, but he has told his aunt, and the other two kunoichi that have raised him, what makes him like Kurenai so much, was because she accepted her beauty as just another tool in her ninja arsenal. While most serious kunoichi didn't care overmuch about their physical attractiveness, many tried to hide behind a mask, whether it was a literal mask like an ANBU mask, a clan mask, or a metaphorical one like sadism or ferocity, Kurenai turned it into an asset. He saw it as just a side-benefit of her physical training, but one she uses as effectively as the kunai in her hand, or the genjutsu she has perfected. Whether it was admiration because of his work-ethic, or what he said to her best-friends about her, somewhere along the way, her admiration turned to attraction, and later, on the night he was accused of stealing the Sacred Scroll, something she never believed for an instant, he'd worked too hard to earn his headband, just to throw it all away by committing treason, turned to infatuation.
Kurenai, both praised and cursed, the Hokage for placing him on her team, when he became a genin, he would be an adult, and legal for her to pursue. Then Kurenai was blocked, by of all people the Hokage, when he was placed on her team, where another law prevented her from making him her boyfriend. Telling him about her feelings, and outing her fellow kunoichi on the first day, was the only thing she could do to let him know how she felt about him, that, and some light flirting here and there. Then, he did something that altered her feelings toward him forever, he answered my feelings, and that of his other kunoichi teammates in such a way, that let us know we all have an equal shot with him and did it, in a way that protected my career. Naruto bought the team a gift, that told them how important they are to him, he bought them the same armor he bought for himself, and his only living blood-relative, someone he sees as his mother. That single gift gave them a message, he wanted to protect them, he saw them as precious to him, as precious as his family, as precious as his own life, and for the red-eyed kunoichi it catapulted her feelings for Naruto, from simple infatuation and affection to full-blown love.
Naruto not only told them about his feelings, but he did it in a way, to assure all three kunoichi that he respected them, as both women, and fellow warriors, by placing them on equal footing. It showed Kurenai, that he respected her Jonin-sensei status enough, to not put her in jeopardy of losing either one, by following her heart. She also suspected that his new drive to better himself, is as much about becoming a chunin so he will no longer be her student, as it is to become as strong as he can.
Kurenai was brought out of her thoughts as they approached the bridge, when Naruto and Hinata's heads jerked up, and directed all of their attention to three people, who had appeared in front of them. They were three men and a woman, with the woman obviously in charge. They must be new ninja, Gato hired after we killed Juzo Biwa, we should have known, we wouldn't be able to complete this mission without a confrontation. We have only one more week of construction before the bridge is connected to Fire, Gato is probably getting desperate, Kurenai took a close look at the kunoichi facing her, as she and her team approached the bridge, he must've shelled out a lot of ryo to get these ninja.
Chōjūrō of Kiri is the youngest member to ever be inducted into the Seven, he must already be pretty strong if he earned a spot with those savages. It seems Naruto will be fighting him, hm, prodigy versus prodigy, I wonder who will prevail? Byakugangoroshi no Ao no Kiri, known to specialize in killing Hyuga, rumored to have acquired a transplant of the vaunted Byakugan. It seems Hinata and Sakura will face him alone, and from the look on her face, Hinata knows of him. Don't let your anger get the best of you, Hinata-chan, familial pride does not help with vengeance. Between Chōjūrō and the woman is the master of the silent kill method, Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Mists, some say he is the second coming of the Nightmare. Yugao-chan and Gekkō-kun should have no problem with him. The most dangerous of them all, was the kunoichi, Mei Terumi, known as the Goddess of Mist, and other than Juzo Biwa, and Kisame Hoshigaki, is one of the only three S-ranked ninja, Kirigakure ever produced, and the youngest in history. She is also a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, wielding Kiba-ken, and two kekkei genkai, Lava Release, and Boil Release, surprised Kiri let her come on this mission…
"I never thought I'd see you on a petty C-rank, Terumi-san," Kurenai wondered, "keeping a petty despot in power, doesn't seem like a worthy mission for someone like you? It's definitely below your skill level to take on a mission like this," Blood Squad's sensei accused, "so I wonder, what it was that brought Kiri no megami, here?"
"On the contrary, Shinku shinkirō, mission's like this keep me humble," Mei replied with a smile, "they help me stay in perspective," she turned her head to see the blonde Konoha genin, continue to advance toward her youngest companion, "reminding me where I come…"
After the briefest of exchanges between the two boys, the blonde genin pulls an L-shaped contraption from a leather holster. The handle appeared to conform to his grip, which curved into a metallic, blue-steel body, holding a cylinder which seemed to begin turning, as the boy said, "Purazumaton: Burasutā Hoden," as a vibrant-red light, shot at Chōjūrō, faster than the speed of sound! It struck him right between the eyes, breaking his glasses, but the kinetic force of the blast was so strong it flung her friend, several meters back down the bridge. He landed hard on the stone surface, before rolling another meter and stopping with his back to everybody, and almost immediately, a pool of blood began to spread out and away from the body of the Mist ninja.
The shockingly, brutal display of power, had stunned everybody into silence and immobility, but it was not over. As soon as, the body came to a halt, Naruto used his photokinetics to lift the blades free of the body, and flung them out into the bay, where they sank to the depths. Satisfied with his handy work, Naruto returned his blaster to its holster, then drew his ten-fist sword, he spun around with a solemn look on his face, "now that the numbers are about even, let's get to it!"
"…from."
Even Zabuza was caught by surprise by the boy's vicious action, but his aunt was not one to let a good distraction go to waste. While Kiri no Akuma, watched the death of his colleague, the current Ichizoku no atama no Uzumaki, grasped the Uzumaki family blade by the hilt, and faster than a lizard's tongue flicks had the blade out and through Zabuza's neck. He was dead before his head hit the ground, as his body wilted and fell over, Yugao completed the motion of her cut, which flung the blood from the blade and brought the blade around into the scabbard on her back. Having tasted blood for the first time in years, the sword showed its true form, which meant a difference in the tsuba if nothing else, instead of the yin-yang symbol, it was the burnished, metallic form, of the Uzumaki spiral.
"Chōjūrō, Zabuza," Mei whispered, in sorrow, she would have retaliated, but she could not, because no Uzumaki will attack their own kin, especially anybody wielding that blade. Because it was the blade of the Daimyo of Uzu, to whom all Uzumaki pay their allegiance, regardless of whatever land houses them, an Uzumaki's first allegiance is to the holder of that blade. Mei fell to her knees and bowed her head to the ground, and in a strong, unwavering voice, "I, Uzumaki-Terumi Mei, do hereby forswear all allegiances from this point in time and behind me, and transfer my loyalty to the Uzumaki of Konoha, from now until the day I die."
"Mei-chan, what the hell are you doing, you are betraying us, for them," Ao shouted, totally forgetting his own opponents, to his doom!
"Kaiten: Rokujūshi Inazuma danmaku no Sen hari (Sixty-four-Thousand needle, Lightning Bolt Barrage)," came a feminine voice, while he was looking away a fusillade of chakra infused death pelted, the former Kiri ANBU, striking tenketsu, and nerve-endings with equal ease, rendering him as vulnerable as any other man his age.
"KAI," Kurenai shouted, and with a burst of her chakra, the images that were filling the minds of the Kiri rebels leaders, was terminated! They all stood as they were before on the bridge, Chōjūrō was alive and well, as was Zabuza, while Ao stood hale and hardy as he was at the beginning of the genjutsu, Kurenai cast over the area the first day, as a booby trap if they had enemies waiting for them when they got here.
Mei just grinned and said, "that was pretty good, Kurenai-kun, I never even knew we were in a genjutsu, until you broke it yourself."
"My apologies, Mei-san," Kurenai offered with a slight bow, "that was a trap not meant for you, I set it to protect in case Gato tried to destroy the bridge when we were not here. It was meant to force you to identify yourself, and give you some idea of our capabilities, while also exposing your weaknesses. As individuals, and as a group," Kurenai informed her Mist kunoichi counterpart, while pointing to Chōjūrō, "he is overly proud about being the youngest, of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, it is a laudable achievement, but not something to let down your guard over," she pointed to Ao, "the old man is too dismissive of young opponents, arrogantly believing he can take anyone not his age or older. Don't forget that you don't know everything, and techniques are constantly evolving," Kurenai admonished, to Zabuza she said, "you shouldn't be so envious, or dismissive of your young teammate, he has earned his position among the Seven."
Mei continued to grin, which lessened when she asked, "and my failing, kunoichi-kun, what great failing do you see in me?"
"Merely a fear that if you let your full name be known, you'll lose your identity, and only earn credence under your true clan-name," Kurenai answered with a confident smile, "but you are already an S-ranked ninja, with your own, well established nindō. Surely, telling others your name won't damage your reputation?"
Mei's own smile brightened her already beautiful face, "you are quite correct, Crimson Mirage-san, though that is an old fear, I have quite come to terms with my identity. As you may have realized, my full name is Uzumaki-Terumi Mei," she supplied, while turning to look at her fellow Uzumaki, "my mother married into the Terumi clan, shortly before the fall of Uzu," she explained, before turning back to Kurenai. "You are correct, I do not work for Gato, I have no interest in furthering his despicable regime, here in Wave," Mei all but spat, "if I had the leisure, I would take pleasure in ending his miserable existence. I'm here, first to meet my fellow clanspersons," nodded in their direction, "and ask a favor of them."
Naruto and Yugao approached Mei cautiously, wary of a trap, but close enough to listen, "you have recently taken down an S-ranked missing-nin, Juzo Biwa," Mei inquired, to Naruto's nod. "In doing so, you acquired a certain item, Kubikiribocho," she added, to another nod from Naruto, "we were wondering if we could acquire this weapon from you, it's a symbol of village pride, and we would appreciate having it returned to us?"
Yugao's eyes narrowed, "why should we care about the pride of Kiri, we're Konoha-nin?"
"I'm not here as a representative of Kiri," Mei answered, "I am the leader of the rebel alliance, in opposition to the tyrannical leadership of the Yondaime Mizukage, who has begun persecuting clans and individuals with kekkei genkai, going so far as to execute people merely for possessing one."
"That's so stupid," Naruto fumed, "any Kage or leader of a village should view bloodlines as a source of strength for their village. What could he be thinking," he asked?
"Never try to ascertain the motives of a madman, Naruto-san," Mei taught, "it is a lesson in futility."
Yugao had been thinking during the exchange of her younger clans people, but turned to her nephew, "what do you think, Naruto-oi-san, you're the one who acquired the weapon for the Uzumaki clan, so you have the right to determine who owns it."
Naruto pinched his bottom lip, "personally, I don't have a problem turning over the sword, it's not feasible with my fighting style. At most, I was going to use it as a way to practice my kenjutsu, it would be perfect for enhancing my swing," Naruto explained, before smirking and knocking his knuckles against the hilt of his own sword, and adding, "if I can learn to swing that huge slab of steel, this puppy could be even easier to wield." Mei was smiling at the prospect of getting the Executioner's Blade so easily, but Naruto turned serious, "but I am not willing to just give it away, it's a special blade and a man gave his life for it. It would dishonor his memory, if I just gave it to anyone who asked for it," Naruto stated with a hard stare.
"The Executioner's Blade is not a party favor, boy," the blue-haired ANBU snapped, "it is a national treasure of Water Nation, we can't just be giving one of the Seven Blades away. Why in my day…"
"Ao," Mei hissed, "shut up or I'll kill you! It is his by right of combat," she snapped at him, before placing her hand on her own swords, "he won the Blade, fair and square, from Juzo Biwa, he doesn't have to entertain me at all about a barter, he could tell me to piss off and I could do nothing to him. As is the tradition of the Seven," Mei admonished the veteran ninja, who apparently did not know the customs of the Seven Blades at all, "I'm trying to do this with as little bloodshed as possible, in case you haven't noticed, we're outnumbered and surrounded."
"Plus, that genjutsu you witnessed in the beginning, wasn't just and illusion," Yugao informed them, "it was a vision of the future, so mind what you say, old man, especially to my nephew," she concluded with a growl.
"For something so vital, something equally as vital should be required," Naruto mused to himself, then an idea struck him, "I won't give you the sword," but as they stiffened, he added hurriedly, "but that doesn't mean it cannot still aid you in your cause. You see while I do own the blade, I have given it to someone else to use in my stead, I've given it to my Tool," at their understanding eyes, he continued to explain, "my vassal, who is also from Kiri and is even a bloodline user, so she falls into perfect line with the ideals of your side of the rebellion. Her name is Uzumaki Shiroyuki, formerly of the Yuki-clan, and she is quite formidable in her own right, A-ranked status in ninjutsu, iryojutsu (medical techniques), and taijutsu, still a novice with kenjutsu, but she has mastered the basics of swordplay, she needs to be trained in Uzumaki-Musashi style," Naruto informed Mei, who nodded, that is a universal Uzumaki requirement, "and she has the bloodline limit: Kōriton or Ice Release. So, what do you say, Mei-kun," Naruto asked, "the sword will still be in the fight with you, even if Kiri will no longer own it?"
Mei gave the matter some serious thought, it was her mission to secure the blade for the side of the rebels, and this will be mission accomplished, even if the blade will have to leave Mist, once the fighting has ceased. She began to nod, "I agree to your terms, Uzumaki-san, I will need to evaluate this Shiroyuki's strength personally, to see if your claims of her prowess are valid, but even if she's not as formidable as you claim, her medical acumen would be a boon to our forces. I accept your terms, Naruto-san," she exclaimed with an extended hand, which Naruto accepted with his own.
"Just so we're clear here, Uzumaki-Terumi Mei-san," Naruto began with steel in his eyes, "Shiroyuki and Kubikiribocho, are a package deal, when the fighting is over, you will personally escort her, and the sword, to Konoha, yourself. If Shiroyuki turns up in Konoha without the sword, you better be standing next to her," Naruto explained, before adding, "she is under your protection, you are responsible for her well-being, both mentally and physically. If something happens to her whether by the enemy or an ally, or if something, somehow happens to both of them, that prevents them from serving me, you will take her place as my Tool," Naruto concluded, then added, as a crimson halo, enshrouded his body, "do you, by the blood of the Uzumaki, swear this to me, Uzumaki-Terumi Mei-san?"
If Mei's eyes could have gotten any wider at what she saw, they would have popped out of their sockets. The Uzumaki blood-oath, to anybody else, swearing by your blood would mean only slightly more binding than simply giving your word, only the personal integrity of the oath-taker would insure fulfillment of the promise. To the Uzumaki, swearing a blood-oath was literally putting your life on the line if you didn't do everything in your power to keep your promise, and if you failed, your life was forfeit, no matter how powerful you were as a ninja. Closing her eyes, Mei summoned up the exact same energy as her male Uzumaki counterpart, "I, Uzumaki-Terumi Mei, do hereby, swear by the blood of the Uzumaki, that Shiroyuki and Kubikiribocho will return to Konoha at the end of our current conflict, should either of them be destroyed or unable to return to Uzumaki Naruto, for any reason, then I, Uzumaki-Terumi Mei, will become the Tool of Uzumaki Naruto, of Konohagakure no Sato, for the rest of my life." The crimson energy, continued to grow before silently flaring, to be a little bit brighter than the current noon day sun, causing everybody except the oath-bound party themselves to flinch back. It was suddenly as if Mei, could feel the icy-grip of death clutching at her heart, the sensation lasted only for an instant, but now, Mei and Naruto knew that their oath had been ratified by Shinigami's power, if Mei tried to break her oath, she would die, reasons and circumstances did not matter. Now, Mei's life was tied to a woman, she had never even met, such was her commitment to the cause.
Oath of the Tool.
At the Home of Tazuna, the Bridge Builder
To say this month had been one of the most turbulent, in Shiroyuki's life, would be a lie. It was safe to say that the month, or months, she spent running from her family home in Mizu no kuni, was easily the hardest time of her life. There were times before she met, Juzo-sama, where she was seriously considering selling her body, just to find food and a place to sleep. Even she knew she was prettier, even for her age, than most of the adult women, Shiroyuki saw walking around on street corners. At that time, she had been on the streets long enough to know what kind of women they were, and she had been corrupted enough to understand, what sort of perversions the world contained, most of them revolving around sex.
Luckily, it never came to that, for just prior to making her final decision was when she met Juzo-sama, who began her training, which gave her more options than to become a whore. That would happen, only when the last vestiges of her pride had withered away and became as dust, when the only thing that mattered to her, was her survival, or that of another precious person.
However, this most recent month, while not her most traumatic, was certainly her weirdest, by far. When she awakened from her fainting spell, she found herself in a house, owned by the same man, she and Juzo-sama had been sent to kill. Treated as just another guest in her house, by Tazuna's daughter, who didn't even look upon her with suspicion, not that Tsunami had anything to worry herself over, what with six-ninja in her home. The same ninja that were able to fight and defeat her master, one of the strongest men she had ever met, only a few ninja she knew of had the power to take down, Juzo Biwa, Kiri no Akumu, and as she learned later, he was taken down by a rookie ninja. Someone, barely out of his village's training academy had killed her owner, something she was loathe to believe at first, until she got the chance to spar with him.
It was a few days ago, her grief over Biwa-sama had run its course, and she needed something to take her mind off of him. Shiroyuki began thinking about her future, and where she wanted it to go, she did not wish to be alone, she needed a purpose, something she could accomplish. Shiroyuki decided to go for a walk, when she came upon the boy who killed her former master, he was reclining against a tree, taking a break from training when she found him. She did not know she was moving until she found herself descending upon, Naruto's sleeping form, all she knew was that she wanted to avenge her master. Her senbon were in her hand, between her fingers, ready to be deployed, she landed where she thought he was. Only to find that he was not where she thought he was, she found herself unleashing her fury upon the ground below him.
Behind her, a cascade of bluish-white light began to coalesce, Shiroyuki caught the light from the corner of her eye, and by channeling chakra to her legs, dashed to the side to avoid any reprisals he may have for her. She reached about a meter to her right, before turning back to send her senbon at Naruto, which again missed him completely. I'm being too hasty with my throws, and I am not facing him properly. She brought out more senbon, this time she was looking directly at the blonde, when she made her throw, there seemed to be a distortion in the air, like how a straw looks when immersed in water. Her thrown objects sail right past him, she appeared to be throwing wildly, but Shiroyuki knew her skill with senbon, was unparalleled. She was good enough that she could target specific nerves of the human body with her needles, enough to induce paralysis in all parts of the body, even to put it into a death-like state, if needed. So, she knew she was not missing, he just was not present at the place her eyes said he was, he was using some form of refractory genjutsu to misdirect her senses.
If I cannot target him specifically, then I'll target the area in front of me, there was plenty of humidity in the area, enough for her to deploy her water-needles. She went through a short series of handsigns before saying, "Water style: Thousand Needles of Death!" This caused a number of water-needles to form in mid-air, surrounding her blonde foe, and with a wave of her hand, hurled the fusillade of death directly at Naruto.
Naruto went through his own series of handsigns as soon as she began hers, his Kidogan was blazing as he watched her go through her signs. He cannot see chakra while it's still in the body, but once it begins to be molded, it becomes visible to him and allows him to see what kind of jutsu is being flung at him. Chakra, as he has discovered, once it leaves the coils, fluoresces at the microwave bandwidth, it is how the ninja oscillates their chakra that determines what kind of jutsu they are using. It is not about frequency, it is about amplitude, from the narrowest amplitude for fire jutsu, to the widest for earth jutsu, with water, wind, and lightning, in that order, somewhere in between. Ironically, genjutsu is at an even wider amplitude than earth ninjutsu, and Naruto has no idea why any of this works the way it does, for now he just accepts that and moves on.
Thus, while Naruto, knew not which ninjutsu, Shiroyuki would employ, he knew what type she would use, and how to possibly counter it. "Wind style: Great Breakthrough," he said, but instead of using it to retaliate, he directed it around himself, which forced the water needles around the funnel of the whirlwind. He knew she was acting on her emotions, this was the first time she was able to meet him alone, since her master's death, she needed to vent her emotions, or they would consume her. He could have ended this immediately, he had known she was there before she even found him, his fox senses were amazing. He could have ended it before it started, by killing her, something he would have been smart to do, but he did not, because that was not the kind of shinobi he wanted to be, battles and assassinations were one thing. For battles, it was kill or be killed, with assassinations he was just a tool, a weapon, the client was the killer, he or she was the hand that was used to end someone's life, at least that was how he chose to reconcile that part of the life of a ninja. Naruto was no different in the eyes of the law, than a knife or a crossbow.
That being said, he knew that some would still seek his life, when he killed their loved ones, and Shiroyuki was only the first to do so. Naruto did not want to hurt her, more than he had already, but that did not mean, he was just going to let her continue to attack him. Naruto's wind was able to capture nearly all of the ice-user's water-needles, taking control of their flight, and adding speed to her already fast moving projectiles, and begin to spit them back toward their mother.
This surprised the young kunoichi, but she still was able to evade them all by jumping to her right. Then she strafed further around the Konoha Genin, while forming and launching a continuous barrage of water-senbon at him. By this time, Naruto's wind technique had run its course, but he was ready for her when it did, as soon as he completed his spin, there was a snap-hiss as a column of orange, incandescent plasma extended from both hands, to just over a meter long. He held it at a quarter of the length, as he used these plasma-blades to block and deflect her water senbon, while deploying his Kidogan.
This is where Shiroyuki begins to smile, as she realizes a tactical miscalculation on his part, and begins to taunt him. "You are very good, Uzumaki-san," she began disarmingly, "I daresay one of the best I have ever fought against, except for Juzo-sama," she ended with a bitter bite to her voice. "You have quite formidable skills for a Genin, and normally, this would be where I ask you to give-up the fight, because you've given yourself a distinct disadvantage while battling me."
"Why do you believe that, Shiroyuki-san," the blonde asked the ebonette with a raised eyebrow, while continuing to move his arms to defend against her continuous barrage?
Shiroyuki gave him a sinister grin, "because with both of your hands full, you cannot employ your ninjutsu, or even that refractory genjutsu of yours. I, on the other hand, am not so encumbered," she growled, as she continued to use her left-hand to create her elemental ninjutsu, while her right-hand began to go through its own separate motions.
This surprised Naruto, "wow, you can use one-handed seals, that's extremely rare, and you're correct, as gifted as I am with ninjutsu, that's a skill I cannot learn. I am not ambidextrous after-all." As he was talking, he surreptitiously began to build-up his explosive chakra in his legs, "but there is one other skill I have that is just as rare, if not more so, than your one-handed seals," as soon as he finished speaking, he wheeled around in a 270-degree arc, bringing his right-leg up high into an axe-kick formation, before bringing his leg down into a stomp, while sending all of his explosive chakra into his stomping foot, "seal less ninjutsu. Explosive Style: Shockwave," he bellowed!
Faster than lightning, a tide of explosive energy propagated out and away from the Konoha-nin sending a torrent of dirt and rock, and one pissed off kunoichi into the air. Shiroyuki's flight was uncontrolled, and the shockwave of energy had disoriented her making her unable to correct herself. She would have ended up on the ground in a heap, if Naruto had not, immediately extinguished his plasma swords, and shunshinned directly below her, and caught her in his arms. He still, body slammed her into the ground, which proceeded to knock the wind out of her, but it was less than what would have happened if she had hit the ground.
Shiroyuki just laid there, barely moving, even after she got her breath back. She felt like she wanted to just sink down through the earth, she did not know when she began to cry, because it just started as a trickle of tears. Then, before long, her body was racked with sobs as her anger, humiliation, and sorrow, finally began to emerge and flow out of her.
Naruto was watching with an impassive face, though on the inside he was cringing, just like most men do when they see a woman cry. He watched her fall apart for a few minutes, then decided to speak, "are you ready to have a polite conversation now, or did you want to try to kill me again?"
"Just… get it over with," the woman ground out through her tears, "just kill me already and be done with it. I don't have any sort of purpose now, what use is a broken Tool," she pleaded, "when it can no longer fulfill the function for which it was made?"
"That depends on what the Tool's function truly is, Shiroyuki-san," Naruto answered, "what do you believe your purpose was to Juzo Biwa?"
"I was meant to protect him, to act as an extension of his will, when he could not be present," she informed him, "but without him, I am nothing, I cannot be an extension of him, unless he is here."
"What a crock," Naruto burst out, "did he tell you that, or are you making that shit up?" Shiroyuki jerked her head up in disbelief that he would mock her, "as if The Nightmare of the Bloody Mists, The Nightmare Who Paints the Battlefields, would need a fourteen or fifteen year-old girl to protect him! In case you forgot, I just fought you, and while your skills are very, very good, they're nowhere near the caliber you'd need to be able to take on the kinds of threats that would require Juzo-freaking-Biwa to be protected!"
Shiroyuki's eyes hardened with afront, "this coming from the thirteen year-old boy who was able to kill him," she snapped back!
"Yes, and there were many factors during that fight, which contributed to that outcome," Naruto retorted, "I'm not going to sit here and go over all of them, but the two main contributions to my victory are luck, and ignorance."
"What's that supposed to mean," she asked?
"Call it what you will, luck, a miracle, divine intervention – though that may be another way of saying miracle – or just a fluke, I'm not going to delude myself into thinking that I can take on S-ranked ninja at every turn. I'm still just a Genin after all, and I've only been out of the Academy for five months," Naruto informed her, "and the other contributing factor was ignorance, because Juzo didn't know me. He didn't know that I have four bloodlines and considered a ninjutsu prodigy, in my village. There may have even been a little arrogance on his part, when he faced us," Naruto added, "he was so convinced that we couldn't beat him, that he made a rookie mistake, one that all kendo-ka are taught from the very beginning to never allow…"
"What was it that you think he did that led to his death," Shiroyuki demanded, "please tell me?"
"He allowed his sword-hand to be used for something other than holding a weapon," Naruto explained, which brought her up short, with an embarrassed look on her face, "I see from the look in your eyes that you know the ramifications of that action. He used that Water-Prison jutsu of his to trap my sensei, with the hand that the hilt was slanted toward, one of my clones substituted with her, and grabbed onto his hand to prevent him from rectifying his blunder. Another clone was henged into a Demon-wind, Fuma shuriken, the intent was to kill him, but he caught it around the middle, it showed every ounce of skill and experience to be able to do that, but I figured he would catch it, he's too experienced to be caught so easily. As he caught it, another henged Fuma shuriken, was flying toward him in the shadow of the first one, I thought we had him with that one, there was no way he could've caught it, but he surprised us by hopping right over it. As soon as my clone-shuriken had passed him, the clone dropped the henge, and ran up to attach itself to Biwa's back, and well, you know what happened after that."
Shiroyuki stared into the boy's eyes, searching for any hint of deception, and lying, and he was either an exceptional liar, or he was telling her the truth. She tore her eyes away from his, and in anguish, cast them toward the ground, it's true, it has to be, Juzo Biwa is dead because he made a mistake.
"I think your purpose, at least for him was to combat his loneliness, and to pass on his legacy," Naruto hypothesized, "since he was into men, he wouldn't be passing on his nindō to any kids of his own, so he wanted to give it to you. That's just a theory, I didn't know him as a person, just as an enemy," Naruto added defensively, "but I have a question for you."
Guess it's true what they say, Shiroyuki thought with a guilty sigh, enemies can know each other better than friends or allies. He only met Juzo once, and Naruto-sama, already has a better understanding of him, than I did. "Yes, Naruto-sama, what is your question," she asked, subconsciously beginning to add honorifics to his name?
"Why do you need someone else to give you a purpose," Naruto wondered, "can you not find your own purpose in life, even if it's just to live one more day, each day?"
"Because I want to be strong, Naruto-sama," the ice-user answered, "but one can never be truly strong, unless they have a precious person, they can dedicate themselves to. I used to have nothing, I was two steps away from becoming a whore, after I ran away from my home…" she tells him the story of her home, how she discovered her bloodline, how she killed her father, after he killed her mother, and was about to kill her too, because they held a kekkei genkai. She told him about her time on the street, where she had to scrounge through the trash for food, and fight stray dogs to keep what she found. She told him about how Juzo Biwa found her, saying she had the same eyes he did, the eyes of someone with nothing left to lose, "he was only wrong about one thing, I had only one thing of value left with me, and I was just two-steps away from giving that away, before Juzo Biwa found me."
Shiroyuki's words and life story were very close to his own, other than the death of her parents – Naruto's parents were killed by the Kyūbi, on the night of his birth, that much Yugao had told him about their deaths – and discovering his bloodlines. He did not even know his affinities, until after his first failure at the academy. He knew why he had failed, he could not make illusions, as few Uzumaki could, his chakra coils were too large to easily control, which is what the basic bunshin was, an illusion. He had heard about water clones and wondered, if he could make a clone using his own elemental affinities, long story short, that line of thinking did not work. All of his affinities are equal in strength, almost unnaturally balanced, when he used one over any other to make a clone, it did not work for one reason or another, then he would try using two together, which was when he discovered his bloodline limits. Which worked a little better than before, but the results were still less than perfect, the results did not meet the requirements to be a true clone. That morning he discovered his Kidoton, he had truly begun to despair about ever becoming a ninja of Konoha and have to leave the only family, he had left, if he were ever going to support himself. There were few in Konoha that would hire him for anything more than a pittance, and there would be no feasible way he could earn a living, and remain in the village, with his aunt, if he failed the ninja exam a third time.
If that had happened, he would be forced to leave Konoha to find work, because there was no way he was going back to living on the streets. The way he did when he was four, for two years after the orphanage he lived in evicted him, in a place that hated him. He was not afraid of hard work, nor did he believe his aunt would have just kicked him out, he was sure enough of the mutual love and care they felt for each other, to not worry about that, but he refused to allow himself to mooch off of her, or the clan coffers for the rest of his life. He would not feel right with himself, if he could not contribute significantly to the place he lived, even if it were just to be able to pay rent or buy his own food.
Naruto turned to look at her, "A Tool was once a term used among ninja clans to describe a retainer, or a vassal of sorts," he informed her, "they weren't servants or anything like that, they were a part of the clan, and were loyal only to a specific person or family within said clan. Their body, mind, and hearts were still their own, as were the consequences of sharing either of those too freely, or unwisely, the only thing the Tool owed to his or her Master was their Life, their Labor, and their Loyalty." Naruto was silent as he watched her understand what a Tool's purpose was, then he asked, "you are a Tool, once you were a Tool to fix the loneliness and pass on the legacy of Juzo Biwa. You may continue to do that, regardless of your acceptance of my offer, his nindō deserves to continue, he was a great man, a powerful ninja, in fact I will even allow you to carry Kubikiribocho, in both his name, and mine, depending upon your answer to my offer."
Naruto saw her eyes alight with anticipation, of what she believed he was going to ask her, he leaned down, grasping her head from the back, and cupping her chin to keep her eyes, locked on his, and made his offer. "Will you, Shiroyuki of the Yuki clan, become my Tool, and a Tool of the Uzumaki of Konoha?" She began to nod her acceptance, as much as she could with him grasping her like this, as Naruto outlined the specifics of her purpose for him, "will you add the name Uzumaki to your name, to introduce yourself as, 'Shiroyuki Uzumaki of the Yuki clan, Tool of Uzumaki Naruto of the Uzumaki clan of Konohagakure,' or any plausible derivation of the previous stated introduction," Naruto began to glow a crimson-red, as he tapped into a special chakra, called Manna, that all Uzumaki possessed, and was specific for only one purpose, swearing unbreakable oaths? Oaths which were sanctified by one of the Three Pillars of Existence: Kami, Yami, or Shinigami; Light and Life, Darkness and Corruption, or Death and Decay, there is a reason why Uzumaki never go back on their word, or break a promise, or why their Fuinjutsu were among the strongest in the Elemental Nations, they had the power of godly-beings, coursing through their chakra. "You may speak your mind to whomever you choose, share your body with whomever you choose, and you may fall in love with whomever you choose, with all consequences and issues belonging to you as well. I, Uzumaki Naruto no Konoha, however, require from you, your Life to give away as I see fit, though I vow to never allow you to give your life away cheaply, I will always have a purpose when I risk your life; your Labor, excluding twenty-percent of whatever money you earn, from any endeavor is yours. I will provide a roof over your head, you will provide your own food and quality of life, and the twenty-percent you pay will go directly into the Uzumaki Vault, as community tax. You may retain your license as a kunoichi, but you will not accept any mission from any person, or entity that is not from the Uzumaki clan of Konoha, of which, at the moment there are only two members, Naruto and Yugao. Tsunade Senju is also an Uzumaki by blood, and the Hokage, but you may only accept missions or assignments from Tsunade Senju, not the Hokage, who always speaks for the Village. Your Labor and Loyalty, belong to the Uzumaki clan of Konoha, not to the Village of Konoha. You will carry Kubikiribocho in my name, as well as, in the name of Juzo Biwa-san, anywhere you are sent," his eyes hardened as he added, "the Executioner's Blade, belongs to me, I will use it as I see fit, you will protect my ownership of it, even with your own life, which is the most frivolous thing I will give your life away for, so you should try to become as strong as you can, so nobody will be able to take it from you."
Naruto saw the happy acceptance of his terms as his Tool, but easy Oaths make for complacent Tools, so he needed to add a few things that will make sure Shiroyuki does not make her oath lightly. "I have said that your mind, body, and heart, will belong to you, that is true, I will not take away your free-will, your Oath to me and the clauses I have laid out before you, will not be super-ceded. Your conduct, since you are mine, will reflect upon me, and I will reward or punish you, as you deserve. You may share your body with whomever you choose, in whatever capacity you wish, but any children that result from such a union regardless of the father's station or status, unless you marry him, will belong to the clan, though they will be given the choice of whether to become another Tool for the clan or not. Either way, they will be raised as Uzumaki, with all of the rights and responsibilities therein," Naruto concluded, and she had stopped nodding as she listened to Naruto place a hook in his Toolmaker oath, and something told her it was only the first one.
Time to give her a way to escape this bond, he thought, "You may fall in love with whomever captures your heart; however, it is very difficult to give your loyalty to one person, and your love to another, in my opinion they go hand-in-hand. To me, falling in love is to make yourself vulnerable to another person, and thus, you need loyalty and trust to truly love someone, so if you ever fall in love with a person, and that person wishes to marry you, he, or she, whomever you choose, must ask for my blessing before they ask you. Only upon my blessing will you be allowed to consent to marriage, at which point, you are free from this oath, and may then dedicate yourself to your new precious person. Otherwise, this oath is binding upon you until the moment you die, do you consent to this vow, before the Pillars of Existence?"
"Before the Three, I, Shiroyuki Uzumaki of the Yuki clan, Tool of Uzumaki Naruto of the Uzumaki clan of Konohagakure, hereby forthwith and immediately consent to the previously stated oath," Shiroyuki affirmed. As soon as she affirmed her oath, Naruto, still holding her by the head, pressed his lips to hers, and the crimson-manna flared like a red sun, and they could feel the Three Pillars consecrating their oath of the Tool. Now, if either of them breaks their oath they will be sent straight into Yami's Maw (Hell) upon their death, regardless of how they lived their lives.
Shiroyuki came out of her memories, as a needle studded corpse of one of the thugs sent to kidnap, Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, fell over dead. She looked over at the other one, who had thought to take more from the young woman than her freedom, he had been bisected from groin to head, with her master's blade. Shiroyuki swiped her hand laterally and her ice-dome lost cohesion. "Thank you, Naruto-sama, my most precious one," she said in true gratitude, "for becoming my purpose."
Back at the bridge, a gang of fifty mercenaries had appeared behind the Kiri and Konoha ninja, they were being led by a very short man. He used a cane to direct his men, like a conductor directing musicians, only his audience was less than amused.
The Genin immediately discerned the caliber of these men, and even they could tell that Gato was scraping the bottom of his barrel. Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata looked at their senior colleagues, as if asking permission for something, Kurenai, Yugao, Gekkō, Mei, Zabuza, Chōjūrō, and Ao, shared a look and a smirk, then looking at their kohai nodded, Kurenai only said one thing, "no chakra, unless necessary." All three Genin gave vicious grins, Naruto standing between his kunoichi peers, drew his blade, Sakura pulled her two hanbo and morphed them into kama, and Hinata was cracking her knuckled gloves, and together they stepped forward.