Often people do say that there is no such thing as coincident. Things concur because it was by fate or because they were meant to be. Such ideals have led people to take paths that prove to be damaging to them, paths that devour them. It amused Naruto, when people spoke of fate and all the other crap. People did not understand that one could manipulate and force things into going the way one wants them to. Without even taking an active role, one could manipulate things effectively so that one could achieve what he desires. People form ideals to set up their principles, a standard of living. But regardless of how masterful and strict the principles are, things can always go astray from the way one wants them to be depending on who is manipulating the events. Fate does not exist, but it is the choices and ideals we take that lead us to a belief of 'fate'-Amusing that some people blame their faults and miseries on such a belief as fate. If there was such thing as fate, one created his own fate.
To think that fate would have something to do with Naruto saving Yugao would be amusing. Naruto believed that there was such thing as coincident. It happened because he was on his way towards the Wave country and Yugao was heading back to the Fire country. Things like this happen, there was no one manipulating events. It was his choice to move towards the Wave the led to the encounter. The choices we make lead us to the path we take. What we come across in the journey that is life is dependent and influenced by our decisions.
So, was saving Yugao something fated to occur? No.
Yugao stirred up from inside a small boat that could only carry two passengers and the sailor. The sailor of this boat was a clone Naruto, though. Yugao groaned as she raised her head. The pain that had consumed her body had now faded away. Her head hurt though, and her mouth felt dry. She clutched her head shaking it as if there was something on it she wanted to shake away. She looked at her hands and saw that they were bandaged; most of her body was bandaged. As far as she could remember, her body had been covered with wounds and blood. She peaked inside her shirt and saw that she was also bandaged. She did not recognize the shirt she was wearing. That realization dawned on her alarming her. Her heart began to bit a faster rate than normal. Her mind began to compute scenarios' she could find herself in. She remembered that she had been running away to save her life after her team had been ambushed. The mission had been one she would never hope to recall. Her comrades had sacrificed themselves for her to live. That was why she was running for her life when she passed out due to chakra exhaustion and the pain that reigned over her entire body.
With thoughts that her pursuers might have captured her, she tensed and hurried to look up frantically at her surroundings. There was just water around her, a lot of water. She saw that she was inside of a boat. Her heart began to race a marathon as thoughts of being kidnapped and sold into another country to be a sex worker, maybe a slave for some fat rich man. Those kinds of thoughts ran rampant within her head. They were what she could think about given her situation and the fact that she was a woman. Women were being continuously kidnapped and sold to other countries to work as sex slaves. That could be the worst thing to happen to her. She certainly hoped that it was not something like that. Given that thought, she had a sense of hope creeping inside of her heart.
Naruto found the situation amusing, Seeing Yugao looking around frantically. She was obviously fearing the worst or imagining the worst. Well it would not be surprising though, given what the shinobi world had become. The strong devoured the weak. Women were seen as nothing but symbols of sex. Seeds of betrayals lay around everywhere. It was what the shinobi world had become. The shinobi world was a grim nightmare for the weak that had no one to protect them.
''You are finally awake.'' Naruto said with an amused voice, though his face expressed little emotion.
Yugao visibly tensed as she looked at the direction, which the voice came from. The blond hair, it was the same as she had seen before she lost consciousness. She looked at the figure. Bright blond hair, Sharingan eyes, a barely visible Konoha forehead protector, bright red samurai-like amour and barely visible whisker marks on his cheeks. Her eyes widened as she got a clear look of person. There was no mistake about it. It was him.
''Naruto…?''
As soon as she said the name, her fears became strangers to her.
Yugao could not believe the image plastered across her mind. This was Naruto, the son of the Yondaime Hokage in front of her. Due to her ANBU status, she knew that Naruto was missing from Konoha's radars. To think that she could be the one to see him when she was not even looking for him was somewhat unbelievable. What were the odds? She felt somewhat relieved knowing that it was Naruto who saved her. The fact that he still wore a Konoha forehead protector meant that he was still loyal to the village. Seeing that he was still with Konoha made her feel at ease.
Yugao looked at Naruto oddly. She studies him, the amour he wore and his long hair, the whisker marks and his eyes made him look admirable to her eyes.
''You are staring at me.'' Naruto stated simply looking at Yugao.
Yugao looked away as she realized that she had been caught staring at him. Being caught in the act was somewhat embarrassing. However, it sounded like Naruto was neither bothered nor amused by her staring.
''How long have I been out?'' Yugao asked quietly.
''Two nights'' Naruto replied looking back to where the boat was headed.
Yugao nodded with a sigh. Naruto was the one to have saved her, but what was unclear was who cleaned her up her wounds, bandaged and changed her clothes.
''Are you the one who did this to me?'' Yugao asked not narrowing her eyes at her body.
Yugao had not noticed that Naruto was not looking at her. Naruto turned back to look at the woman. Yugao looked up at Naruto and figured that he did not understand what she meant.
''Did you bandage me?''
''Yes'' Naruto replied his face having gone back to impassive. Bandaging her was not that much of a big deal. He did not think it was wrong or anything to do so, he did so because he did not mind.
Yugao looked away with a blush spreading across her cheeks at the thought of Naruto cleaning up her wounds, bandaging her and putting on new clothes on her. He had to have seen her naked body. To have a male undress you and bandage you at your womanly parts was not comforting. He could have touched her inappropriately or done something perverted to her. She could never tell since she was out cold. Yugao looked at Naruto again seeing the blank expression on his face she scratched all her thoughts. Naruto seemed to be the kind of man who looks at her bare chest and not think of anything perverse or anything that was normal for a man to think upon seeing a woman's breasts. Perhaps he was just innocent, and did not understand such things. Yugao thought. When Naruto left the village he was still very young, even now despite reaching her height, he was still of young age. If that were the case he could have seemed uncomfortable, not directly face or blush when she asked him the question. Naruto's face was just blank as if he was not even interested in her body.
Yugao sighed and thanked that she was alive. Her comrade's sacrifices were not for nothing. She was alive to see the days ahead.
''Thank you for saving me.'' Yugao thanked Naruto with a genuine smile.
''If you had been someone else I would have just left you there.'' Naruto said flatly.
''Why did you save me then, is it because I'm from Konoha?'' Yugao asked curiously. She was wondering why he would save her if he would have left her there had she been someone else.
''Even if you were a Konoha shinobi, I would have 'allowed' you to die,'' Naruto replied, revealing that to him it did not matter if one was a shinobi from Konoha or not. If he did not want to help, he would not.
''However, you are like Kakashi. Both you two watched over me with concern and to your best of abilities each time you were stationed to watch over me the time the villagers used to get physical with me.'' Naruto stated. Even though he had never said anything to anyone, he never forgets what other people did for him during his younger days. It was why even today he can call Shikamaru a 'true' friend given that the Nara heir befriended him just to help him get over his loneliness. Shikamaru was not forced or did not have any other hidden reasons to befriend him. Kakashi on the other hand kept a careful eye on him because he was the student of the Yondaime. Kakashi saw the Yondaime as a father figure, thus he thought of it as an important task to look after him given that Minato, his supposed father was dead. Yugao tried her best to fend off the villagers away from him simply because she thought it was wrong how the villagers treated him. She also cared for his wellbeing. Naruto had deduced that much from looking into her eyes whenever she was in front of him. She was also very close to Kakashi seeing that they used to work on the same squad.
Yugao nodded understanding Naruto perfectly. If she was someone else, he could have left her to die simple because he did not care even though she was a Konoha Kunoichi. However, because she was someone else to have helped him in some way, he could not watch her die. Nevertheless, given the look on his face, she was sure he would not shed a tear if she had died somewhere he could not reach her. Still, knowing that he could save her life if he could, pleased her. Yugao smiled inwardly thinking that her sempai-Kakashi-would surely be happy when she tells him that Naruto would save him if he was about to be killed and Naruto was in a position to save him.
Yugao looked around and asked something bugging her, ''Where are we going?'' She asked.
''The Hidden Village in Mist,'' Naruto replied.
''Kiri?'' Yugao said. Naruto was taking her to Kiri, ''The village is in the middle of a civil war and I have to go back to Konoha and give my report!'' Yugao said raising the tone of her voice. If she did not return to Konoha quickly, they would think she was dead and she was officially out of the village on a mission. She had to go back and make a report.
''I am of aware that Kiri is in the middle of a civil war. It is why I'm going there.'' Naruto said, ''Senju can wait for your report. You can return to Konoha after this boat reaches Kiri.''
Yugao nodded hesitantly, ''Why are you going to Kiri?''
''I'm going to test a few things.''
Yugao could have sworn Naruto's voice dripped with a bit of excitement. The way his tone sounded, she decided that she really did not want to know what he was going to test in Kiri. Some things were better left unsaid while some things were better off not known.
A few minutes of silence ensured.
The silence was unbearable for Yugao while Naruto did not mind it. Naruto would prefer the silence to a talking about things that he did not care about or things that would certainly bore him.
''Where have you been over the past two years? Jiraiya-sama has been looking for you and Tsunade-sama has had every ANBU outside Konoha on the lookout for your whereabouts.'' Yugao asked finding something to talk about.
''I was training somewhere safe.'' Naruto responded his eyes looking ahead of the sea. He was getting tired of sitting on the boat. The boat was not fast enough. There had not been any ship at the harbor. If the was any, he would have had to 'make' a ship owner to take him to Kiri since there was no ship at the Wave harbor that went to Kiri due to the civil war. All the ships had sailed off to somewhere and Naruto could not wait, thus he decided to take a boat. The trip would be longer when taking a boat but it beat having to wait for a ship to return. Waiting would have also given an opportunity to whoever was looking for him to get to him. At this moment, Naruto preferred not to deal with annoyances.
Yugao was quiet again. She thought it better to be quiet and just endure the ride. Looking at Naruto, he seemed to enjoy the silence. She found it curious that Naruto was not asking her how things had been in Konoha. She could not tell whether he just did not care or he knew how things had been going.
On another note, his amour gave him the look of a warrior. Not that in his genin days he did not look like much of a fighter. One could tell he was a serious shinobi in his genin days. Now he felt strong, looked strong, and with the amour and the war fan that lay beside him, he was not someone you would underestimate. In all her years as an ANBU, Yugao had learned that appearances could be deceiving.
Naruto's appearance did not deceive anyone. That much she could tell. He appeared strong, and it was indeed true that he was strong.
Two days of travelling in the ocean with Naruto were surprisingly interesting and relaxing for Yugao. She had learned a few things about Naruto while she conversed with him. He was very calm, even when large sea waves threatened to sink their boat, she never saw him panic. He remained as he was and just looked ahead. If the was anything he displayed because of the large waves, it was an annoyed expression. She could only guess that he was annoyed that the waves were disturbing his peace and making it hard for the boat to move on further. It was a situation to be alarmed and making plans to abandon ship but he was just annoyed. Instead of the waves making him panic and fear for his life it only managed to annoy him. She had been alarmed thinking that they would sink in the middle of the ocean. However, when she saw that Naruto was not even looking the slightest threatened she calmed herself down. Her outward appearance had remained calm due to her many years as ANBU, but she was panicking slightly due to the danger. Surely soon enough the waves passed and the boat continued on its path. Yugao was sure that Naruto would fall asleep in the middle of a battlefield without any worries. She really could not tell what was going on in his head. He was impossible to read when his face went blank. For someone trained like her as an ANBU, she should have had little trouble in reading him but it was impossible.
Despite his calmness, she could tell that he was easily annoyed. From the way he spoke, she figured that he was proud. Yugao had asked Naruto a few questions about his father and she had found that he did not acknowledge the Yondaime as his father. Even if the man was still alive, Naruto would not waste a breath speaking to him.
As soon as they reached port, Naruto took his gunbai placing it to its comfort zone and started walking towards the clouded mist. Yugao followed Naruto, as she felt drawn to follow him. Naruto intended to help the rebels in their war against the Mizukage. He spoke as if he could end the war by himself something that was impossible to achieve in her believe. Nevertheless, she felt that she had to see what he could do. She would go back to Konoha as soon as she was done observing him. In addition, she had never been to Kiri before; this also gave her a chance to see the once great nation that was feared for its power. Kiri had a more bloodlines wielders than any other village. However, that now has all gone due to the civil war, which the bloodlines wielders are fighting against those without bloodlines. Kiri also had an elite force of shinobi that was called Kirikagure's Seven Great Swordsman of the Mist. They were truly strong shinobi, who where known throughout the shinobi world for their power and achievements.
The village was truly in chaos and has been like that for years now.
Naruto noticed that Yugao was following him. He guessed that she had decided against going back to Konoha and give her report to Tsunade. He had expected her to go back to Konoha given that she would get into trouble with Tsunade for following him. She was also healed of her injuries. With her injuries gone, she could travel safely to Konoha.
Naruto walked calmly within the mist, his armour singing as if it were announcing his presence. Naruto knew where the rebel's camp was located. He had Zetsu come to the village and collect Intel on the conditions of the village. Kiri has so far secluded itself from the elemental nations. It was mainly due to the civil war that has seen many lose their lives. The other villages did not seem that they wanted get involved with the civil matters of the village. Naruto could only think it was because of how other villages would react or fear that they might support the wrong side and create an enemy. Kumo could rid of these given their love for bloodlines users. It was known everywhere that Kumogakure craved for bloodline wielders. Naruto did not care why Kumo had not stepped up though. It was not worth his time to think why other villages did what they did. This unfortunate situation to the village has presented a good chance for him to test his strength and he would take it.
Yugao walked closely behind Naruto listening to the sound his amour conceived when he walked. Her senses where on high alert given that she could barely see within the thick mist. She did not know which direction they were taking. With the mist so dense, it was easy for them to be ambushed. Yugao was not taking any chances despite that Naruto seemed to be walking without care in the world. He did not seem to be on alert and did not even look around. His head was always facing the direction he took.
Naruto narrowed his eyes to his right. There was a nuisance that was following them. Kiri shinobi might be experts when it came to hiding in the mist but some of them that was all they could do. Beyond that, they were pathetic. The person following them was surely a chunin level. A chunin level shinobi was an annoyance. Naruto wanted to just leave the mist and make it to the rebel's camp.
The nin following Naruto and Yugao suddenly lunged himself in front of Naruto. Yugao visibly tensed upon seeing the nin. She was ready to battle if things got out of hand. Unlucky for the Nin, Naruto was waiting for him. Despite his Sharingan not being able to see clearly due to the mist, his other senses where sharp as a needle. Naruto's right hand moved quickly and gripped the nin's neck tightly. The nin struggled to catch his breath because of the cold grip.
Naruto held a ram seal. ''Obey!'' He muttered putting the nin under a genjutsu to control him with his Sharingan. The man's eyes took the form of a Sharingan. This signaled that the hypnosis was a success.
''Hurt yourself!'' Naruto commanded.
Yugao did not understand what was really happening but she did not like the situation in front of her. Naruto was just being cruel.
The man hesitated to do as he was told. Naruto snapped the man's neck, threw him away, and continued walking.
''Was that really necessary Naruto?'' Yugao asked.
''Yes,'' Naruto replied. ''He hesitated what he was told which meant my genjutsu was not perfect,'' he said flatly. Imperfection was not acceptable to him.
The man might have been their enemy-as he attacked them-but killing him simply because something was tried on him and the results were not what was expected was just cruel. Moreover, he had a good reason for attacking them given that they were not in their territory. They were in his territory. Yugao kept her thoughts to herself and decided to let it go before she annoyed Naruto by questioning his actions.
After what seemed to an hour of travelling through the mist, the two finally left the company of the mist. Yugao no longer walked behind Naruto but now she was at his right side.
The large gates of Kiri welcomed them. From the Intel Zetsu gathered, Naruto knew that the rebels controlled this side of the village. Where the gates where located, but their camps where not near the gates. The entrance was just one of their territories. A territory they claimed after defeating the Yondaime Mizukage's forces. The Mizukage's forces were not that of quality shinobi but rather boasted quantity. They had more shinobi than the rebels did. Their numbers would certainly overwhelm the rebels. Their numbers gave them an advantage, which was why the war had dragged on for so long. The rebels where now destroying piece by piece of their enemies forces. It was a slow progress but it got them the results they needed.
Patrol guards
Ao, the rebel leader's right-hand-man, narrowed his eyes at the mist. His right eye hidden under an eye patch was seeing two people walking towards the gates. His right eye was an implanted Byakugan. He could see everything within the mist.
''There are two people coming towards the gates, a man and a woman!'' Ao said to his men. The men Ao was with got ready for an attack. Yagura's-the Mizukage-forces had a habit of trying to ambush them and take out their strongest to lower their morale and confidence. None of the attempts has been successful thus far. Nevertheless, it would surely end badly for them should they underestimate their enemies because of their previous failures.
As the two people walked out of the dense mist, Ao's eyes widened when his Byakugan saw the chakra coils within the man. He had never a person with such large coils before. Not ever since, he got the implanted Byakugan. With those large chakra coils, there was no telling what how much chakra the person held. Ao studied the female. Judging from her chakra and movements, she was definitely jounin level Kunoichi.
''Get ready, they are getting close,'' Ao said in a serious tone. ''Should they be our enemies I will take on the male, you take on the female!''
''Hai!''
Naruto and Yugao walked towards the gates in a rather relaxed pace. They had already reached Kiri; it was no use running now. Naruto knew what to expect at the gates. Zetsu had given him all the information he needed about the rebels and their leader.
''Halt!'' Ao yelled, ''State you business!'' Ao commanded.
Naruto and Yugao were just in front of Ao. His men were hiding in the shadows waiting to take action should there be a threat posed by the two. Ao recognized the Konoha forehead protector on Naruto's forehead. He recognized the Sharingan. Last time he heard about Uchiha was that the clan had been massacred. The person in front of him was not Uchiha Itachi, the man responsible for the massacre. It made him curious just as to who was the young man in front of him. He could clearly see that Naruto was a young. The woman was not wearing a forehead protector but she was defiantly a ninja.
''Take me to your leader.'' Naruto stated his eyes looking directly at Ao's eyes.
''Tell me who you are!''
''Uchiha Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, call me whatever that pleases you, I don't mind.'' Naruto replied.
Yugao noted that he did not mention his other name, Namikaze. Naruto was never going to accept that name despite it being his birth name.
''What does a Konoha shinobi want with my leader?'' Ao questioned. He was not going to allow anyone to get to his leader without finding out who he/she was.
''He wants to take part in your war against the Mizukage's forces.'' Yugao replied having got the feeling that Naruto did not like being questioned.
Ao narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the two, ''Why? How do I even know that you are not trying to assassinate our leader?''
''Ao,'' Naruto said revealing that he knew the man, ''I do not assassinate, that is just a weak man's way of killing someone. If I wanted to kill Mei, I would have simply just killed you here and match into your camps and kill her.'' Naruto replied.
Ao looked at Naruto carefully. He knew about their leader and him, it must mean that he had Intel on them. Back in his day's young man at Naruto's age were not so blunt like Naruto. Naruto had just said he could kill him if he wanted to. Ao looked at Yugao, to his eyes she seemed like a good person. Looks could be deceiving but for someone like him who has lived for many years, it was hard to deceive him. He could not say that Naruto was a good person. If he really wanted to help, it was not for him to accept or refuse.
''What is your name?'' Ao asked looking at Yugao.
''Uzuki Yugao'' Yugao replied with a smile.
''Fine I will let you see Mei-sama,'' Ao said and then moved closer to Naruto, ''If you attempt to do anything to Mei-sama, I will kill you and the Young lady.'' Ao threatened dangerously with a fierce look on his face.
Naruto would have been amused if Ao had threatened him only. However, the man threatened to kill Yugao, the woman he had saved. If something like that happened his efforts would have been proved useless. Something like that was unacceptable. Naruto's left eye looked dangerously at Ao.
''If you say things like that again, you will not be 'okay'.'' Naruto stated in a rather calm tone but dangerous nonetheless.
Ao felt shivers down his spine. Back in his days, young men were respectful on their elders and did not threaten them.
''Follow me.'' Ao said and turning his back on Naruto and Yugao.
Yugao followed closely beside Naruto. She had heard when Ao threatened Naruto. She was just glad that Naruto or Ao did not end up fighting over the threat Ao had made.
The rebel's camp
The place was crowded with men and women. Despite the situation that has fallen in their village, they all seemed to be happy. They had hope that one day they would be free from oppression from the Mizukage. Not everyone in the camp was a bloodline holder. The camp was composed of those who were against the Yondaime Mizukage's rule. Bloodline holders were seen as nothing more than monsters, abomination in the eyes of the Mizukage and his followers. They were viewed as such only because they were blessed with special abilities. Abilities that made them different from everyone, abilities that made them stronger than other people. One could only say that it was greed that led non-bloodline holders to side with the Mizukage's deranged beliefs in eliminating every bloodline holder. Despite this, they still laughed and smiled within their camps with the belief that one day they would return to their village under a new rule that will accept everyone, a rule that would allow them to live in their village in peace without fear of being killed.
While the three walked towards the tent of the rebel's leader, people often sent glances at them. It was not every day that they had visitors and seeing Naruto and Yugao walk with their second in command them wonder. For Naruto everyone could see he was a shinobi given his attire. Yugao noted that some women were looking at Naruto with 'strange' looks on their faces. (Not that she could blame them anyway)
Naruto just walked calmly his eyes looking around the camp. Even without any support from any other villages, the rebels still held on in their belief. They did not seem like people without hope. They were people filled with courage and confidence. Their courage was admirable given that their enemy was a jinchuriki of the three-tails. Yagura is rumored to be able to fully control his bijuu's chakra. Going against a jinchuriki who could wipe out an entire army should he use the power of his bijuu was admirable given that they were not wavering.
Ao stopped Naruto and Yugao as they had reached the large tent in the middle of the camp. The tent belonged to the leader. Ao walked towards the entrance and announced his presence before walking inside the tent.
Mei was sitting rather comfortably. Without Yagura showing up to face them himself, the civil war would take long to be over. The village would not be able to survive more years of the war that is reigning on it. Mei was relaxed because for a few months now there have not been any major victories over Yagura's forces. It was not that they were being defeated it was just that they had retreated to their bases. Given their numbers, they could not just storm into their faces to fight. They would be massacred if they did something like that.
Mei looked at her entrance as she heard Ao speak.
''Ao,'' Mei said, ''Are you done with your patrol duty?'' She asked.
Ao shook his head negative, ''No, I left my men patrolling.'' he replied walking closer to Mei who was sitting on a rather large comfortable chair behind her desk.
''What brings you back then?''
''Mei-sama,'' Ao said, ''There is a Konoha shinobi outside with a young woman. He said he wants to see you.'' Ao said, drawing Mei's complete attention. Ao was giving Mei a look she knew better than anyone did.
''What is it, Ao?''
''I do not trust him, you should be careful around him. Just in case he tries something, I will stay with you.''
Mei smiled at how Ao was concerned for her health. He was always like this, always thinking as if she could not take herself.
''Ao, are you suggesting that I cannot take care of myself?'' Mei asked in a rather sweet tone.
Ao shifted uncomfortably, ''N-no, Mei-sama'' he replied.
Mei smiled, ''Good...now bring them to me.''
Ao walked away from Mei quickly to take Naruto and Yugao to her. Mei was rather interested in hearing what the Konoha shinobi wanted. She always took Ao's concerns seriously, if Ao said he did not trust the Konoha shinobi she would certainly have her guard up.
Mei quickly rose up from her seat as soon as her eyes where upon Naruto. She walked over to 'welcome' him and Yugao. God was he handsome; she did not see such handsome young men often.
Naruto looked at Mei. She was a slender woman with green eyes, and ankle-length auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a topknot tied with a dark blue hand, and with four bangs in the front. Two bangs were short, one covering her right eye, and two other were long, crossing each other at her bust, just below her chin. She wore a long-sleeved dark blue dress that falls just below her knees. It was closed at the front with a zip, and was kept open at the front-right side from the waist down. The dress only covered her upper side of her arms and the underside of her breasts. Underneath she wore a mesh armour that covered slightly more of her upper body than her dress. She also wore a dark blue short skirt underneath her dress, and underneath her skirt, mesh leggings reaching down over her knees. She wore a belt around her waist and high-heeled sandals.
Zetsu did not describe her in the way he was seeing right now. She was quite different from Zetsu's description.
''Mei Terumi, dual bloodline holder and the leader of the rebels.'' Naruto said.
''You know of me?'' Mei stated with a warm smile, ''You are...?''
''Naruto'' Naruto said. Mei waited for something. ''Uzumaki, Uchiha call me whatever that pleases you.''
''I will call you Uchiha Uzumaki Naruto, if that's okay with you.'' Mei said with warm smile that would melt any other man's heart. Naruto had no objections with what she was calling him.
Mei stretched out her hand inviting Naruto for a handshake. Naruto welcomed the invite. Mei studied Naruto for a while as she shook his hand. She was rather surprised by the fact that he was not checking any part of her body; his eyes were firmly on hers. That did not occur; even her own men always checked her out whenever they were looking at her.
She let go of Naruto's hand, and looked at Yugao, ''Mei Terumi.'' she introduced with a smile.
''Uzuki Yugao''
Yugao could very well say that Mei was a beautiful woman. She was the kind of woman that any other woman would feel threatened. She was just exquisite. She was sure if Jiraiya could just look at the woman he would stop peeping if she promised to allow him to explore at her for as much as he pleased.
Mei wondered if Yugao was the reason Naruto was not checking her out. That aside, Ao had said Naruto wanted to see her, ''Ao,'' Mei called out, ''Take Yugao-san to see around the camp while I see our visitor wants.''
''Are you sure Mei-sama?'' Leaving her with someone who wielded the Sharingan would be irresponsible for him. Their enemy, Yagura is rumored to be controlled with a Sharingan's genjutsu.
''Ao!'' Mei said warning Ao not to question her orders. Ao nodded, albeit reluctantly.
Yugao was not sure if it was okay to leave Naruto alone with someone like Mei alone. She was not sure what the woman might try to do to Naruto while she was not present. The woman had a smile that would hypnotize most into doing what she pleased. She did not want Naruto to be put under the woman's 'spell'. Naruto had saved her life; it was hers time to protect his.
''Let's go Yugao-san.'' Ao said to Yugao.
Yugao stood still for a moment not sure what to do. Naruto looked at her with a blank expression. She sighed and followed Ao outside the tent.
Mei showed Naruto a chair in front of her desk. Naruto unstrapped his gunbai and placed it beside him. He eyes moved onto Mei.
Mei still had her smile planted on her face. It did not bother Naruto, it did not matter to him if she smiled or not.
''So...Naruto why did you want to see me?'' Mei asked looking at Naruto.
''I'm offering my services to you.'' Naruto replied.
''Services? You are from Konoha…Were you sent here to help by your Hokage?'' Mei asked curiously.
''No, the Hokage does not even know I'm here.'' Naruto replied.
''Then why?''
''I want to test my strength and a few jutsu's..I also do want to put an end to Yagura. He is making jinchuriki and the Uchiha look bad.'' Naruto replied knowing about the rumor that Yagura was being manipulated by a powerful genjutsu casted by a Sharingan. Naruto was not yet sure if it was indeed true but all the information Zetsu had brought back to him proved that the man was not himself. At first Yagura was a peaceful man, but that changed overnight and he became what he was today.
''Those are your reasons? You have no hidden agendas?'' Even if he had other agenda's he would not tell her but it did not hurt to ask.
''No.'' Naruto replied simply.
Mei nodded, ''You are just one young handsome man, how do you think that will change things for us?''
''Numbers are of no concern, what matters is quality. You people tend to underestimate the power of Uchiha.'' Naruto replied calmly.
''No, not at all. I am not underestimating the power of Uchiha. I am just curious as to how you can be able to make things to be in our favor.'' Mei stated honestly.
Naruto thought for a moment. He did not boast about his power alone without actions. He let his power do the talking for him. Still it did not matter if Mei believed him or not. He was going to enter the war and entertain himself.
''I know everything that has been going on in this camp. I know that you have been trying to force Yagura into coming out and fight himself with no success thus far.'' Naruto stated not bothering to convince Mei that his strength alone could change things into their favor, ''I can do that for you.''
''How?''
''I have my ways.'' Naruto replied with a smile as he thought of a better way to force Yagura into battle.
Mei noticed Naruto's smile. It was the first time she was seeing him smile ever since he came into her tent.
''Care to tell me this way of yours?'' Mei asked, curious, although bothered by the fact that Naruto was not giving her any answers she was looking for.
Naruto looked at the woman for a moment. She was not going to let it go unless he told her what she wanted to know. Releasing a sigh, he motioned for Mei to lean closer to him. Mei did as instructed without any worry, ''I have the Kyuubi by my side. I can summon it to destroy Yagura's forces.'' Naruto whispered to Mei's ear. To make the woman stop her questions he had to tell her that.
Mei's eyes widened as she heard the name 'Kyuubi'. Last time she heard of the Kyuubi it was when it attacked Konoha. It was when the Yondaime Hokage died sealing it. The Yondaime, Naruto did look like the Yondaime except for the Sharingan eyes. The Kyuubi was known by many as a natural disaster. It was the most powerful of the bijuu's. If one had such a bijuu in their side, the war was guaranteed to be won by them.
''Tell me are you related to the Yondaime Hokage? You look like him.''
''A lot of people do say that.'' Naruto said, ''No. I am not related to Minato.''*
Mei noted that Naruto called the Yondaime by his name in a detached tone. Which made her curious, but she was not going to ask about it for now.
''I find it hard to believe that you can summon the Kyuubi, last time I checked it was sealed.''
''It was indeed sealed, but not anymore,'' Naruto said, ''You will get to see it in a few days.''
Mei was quiet for a moment. Naruto did not seem to be the kind of person to make jokes. He also sounded truthful. Though she could not guess what he was thinking, it bothered her greatly. ''Fine, I will take your word for it until I see the Kyuubi,'' Mei said leaning back to her chair, ''To tell you the truth I would have accepted your help regardless of how strong you were. Right now, I need all the help I can get for the war to end.'' Mei said truthfully.
''I few discuss a few things with you tomorrow, right now I'm sure you might want to rest,'' She said, ''Will you and Yugao-san be sharing a tent?''
''No''
''Oh, I thought you and her were...never mind that,'' Mei said, ''So you are single then.''
Naruto raised a brow at her question but nodded nonetheless.
''Good,'' Mei said with a wide smile and a gleeful look in her eyes, ''It is very rare these days to find handsome young man single these days.''
Naruto chose not to let his mind wonder at Mei's words, thus he did not comment.*
''Follow me, I will show you where you will be staying.'' Mei said getting up from her chair. Naruto picked up his gunbai and followed the woman.
As they walked around Naruto observed that the rebels held respect for Mei as their leader regardless of the fact that she was a woman. Some men where even glaring at Naruto for merely being in the company of their beautiful leader. It was a wonder how Mei could live with so many men and few woman comfortably. She was always surrounded by men, who looked at her with lust.
Mei showed Naruto his tent and went back to her tent to get some things done.
An hour later
Naruto lay at the bed inside his tent. He was not wearing his armour; instead, he wore the black suit worn over his armour. He had decided to take it off since he would not be fighting.
Not a lot of thoughts were dancing inside his head. He wanted to test out a few jutsu's and the limits of his strength. It would be a rather foolish for him to believe that his strength had no limits. Everybody has their limits; it is just a matter of knowing them and finding a better use for them. However, Naruto doubted that there would be anyone within Yagura's forces that would push him. Nevertheless, fighting out his limits was important. A man who did know his own limits was bound to see himself as a God, a man above everyone. Naruto did know those that were below him, he just needed to know where his limits where.
A knock on his tent's door snapped him out of his thoughts.
''Come in''
Yugao entered Naruto's tent. She saw Naruto lying down with his head resting on both his hands, eyes looking at her for a moment before going back up. Yugao was not sure where to sit as the tent had no chair and the only place to sit was on Naruto's bed. It would make her uncomfortable sitting on Naruto's bed while he was lying on it. She looked at Naruto, it was rather hard to tell whether he was oblivious to her thoughts or he just did not care. She doubted that he was oblivious though.
Sighing Yugao went to sit on Naruto's bed.
''How did it go?''
''Well'' Naruto replied, it was obvious that she was asking how his meeting with Mei Terumi went.
Yugao nodded her eyes firmly on the ground. She was finding the moment rather uncomfortable Sitting beside Naruto on his bed with just the two of them. Naruto might be younger than her but he was still a male, a rather desirable male. The fact that she thought he was desirable disturbed her. She had known him ever since he was just a kid. She had always cared for his well-being. After his 'transformation', she had thought he would grow into a fine young man. Regardless of those thoughts, she never actually thought that she would find herself being uncomfortable by just being alone with him.
''Aren't you concerned about what the council will do after they find out you helped the rebels after they had refused to help them?'' Yugao asked deciding to rid of her troubling thoughts.
''No,'' Naruto replied. There was nothing that the council-to be precise the elders-would do that he could not handle. If they where proving to be more troubling than they were worth, he could just make sure that they were not 'okay'. They had lived enough already. ''I was not aware that the rebel's asked help from Konoha and were refused.''
''Not a lot of people know about it. I doubt even some council members are aware of it,'' Yugao said, ''Mei-san went to Konoha a few years ago asking help from Konoha. The civil war had just began at that time, but the Sandaime and the elders refused to help.''
''Refusing to help the needy...that sounds unlike the Sandaime but then again, one could never really tell what the old man was thinking,'' Naruto said, ''Either way their decision works better for me.'' Had Konoha helped the rebels, Naruto would not be having this chance to test a few things.
Yugao decided not to comment on Naruto's last statement. Ever since the 'transformation', Naruto lost all the connection, he had with the Sandaime. She knew that the Sandaime may have been a kind man but he was not above manipulating others and things for 'the good of Konoha'.
''You don't seem to fear the council, to be more precise the elders like every other shinobi.'' Yugao commented. Naruto did not seem to be worried about what the elders might decide to do about his actions. He was here in Kiri intending to fight with the rebels as shinobi of Konoha without approval from the council. On top of that, there was still another issue about his departure from the village. Not anyone was willing to disobey the council in fear of their wrath.
''That is because unlike any other shinobi they cannot do anything to me and I don't actually care what they say. If they banish me, I can just live the village and return once they are dead.'' Naruto responded calmly.
Yugao took her eyes off the floor for a moment and looked at Naruto. She could not believe that he had just said something like that. Not even Jiraiya was willing to do something that would get him banished from Konoha. Konoha was his home, it was what he lived for, and Konoha was his heart. Some people would rather die than be exiled from the village. It was why many did not do anything against the wishes of the council. However, Naruto was willing to and had done things that did not please the council.
He was certainly an interesting person
''How long are we going to be here?''
''We?'' Naruto asked with a raised brow, but did not wait for Yugao to reply, ''I will be here for two or three weeks.'' He said.
Yugao nodded, ''Are you going back to Konoha you are done here?''
''No, I still have other things to do before that.'' He had about three months before he could return to Konoha and face the annoying music of the council. It would certainly be interesting to see what they had planned for him.
Yugao nodded, it was not her place to tell him to return to Konoha...not that it would make any difference if she did tell him to return. She would be in trouble though, for not doing anything to make him return to the village when all ANBU were instructed by the Hokage to force him to return if they did come across him.
''I guess I should get accustomed to the weather of here then,'' Yugao stated. The weather here was different from Konoha. In Konoha it was mostly sunny, but here it was rather cold. ''When you found me, did I have my sword with me?'' Yugao asked. If she was going to stay in the village, she had to train to make sure that her skills did not dull. ANBU always had to be in their top fighting condition.
''Yes.'' Naruto replied. ''Is it of value to you?'' He had a weapon that was of value to him, his Gunbai. Madara had given it to him as a gift. Should it somehow disappear, he would do anything to get it back.
''Yes.'' Yugao replied after a few moments of silence. The late Hayate who she had trained with in Kenjutsu had given the sword to her. ''Do you have it?''
''No. It is in the Wave country at Kisara's weapons shop. You will get it when you go back to Konoha.'' Naruto replied.
Yugao let loose of a breath she did not know she was holding. She was relieved to know that her gift was not lost. ''Thank you for taking it there.'' She said with a genuine smile. Naruto made no comment
''I better be going to my tent.'' With that being said, she stood up and left Naruto alone.
Naruto sighed and closed his eyes. Just sitting without any activity being done did not dwell well with him...well that was unless he was enjoying the peace around him. Where he was, there was no peace. People around him carried the weight of a civil war; they carried hatred for the forces of Yagura. There could never be peace where hatred was found in abundance.
Mei's tent
Mei was a bit pleased to have found help despite it being one person. Even if was just one person, that person was a Uchiha. The Uchiha clan was known to be one of the most powerful clan's beside the Senju. It was those two clans that made Konoha what it is today, the strongest of the Five Great Hidden Villages. Tomorrow, she would have to test his strength and see what he could do, though she doubted he would allow her to test him.
Another thing was that he had said that he could summon the Kyuubi. She did not know what to think about it. She would believe it when she does see the Kyuubi. It was not very often that one would just say that he/she could summon the Kyuubi. If it was indeed true he could summon it, they could end the civil war over night. The Kyuubi alone could win the war for them. However, from stories she had heard the Kyuubi was not a fan of humans. It hated humans with all its being.
There was something about Naruto that made her want to believe that he could summon the Kyuubi. She might not have been able to read him but she could tell that he was not the one to joke around. She could not tell if he was being honest or just lying. His voice was blank along with his face.
Ao walked into Mei's tent. Mei smiled warmly upon seeing him. He had taken long to return, she guessed that after showing Yugao around he must have gone back to his patrol duty.
''Anything new?''
Ao shook his head, ''No, I don't think they will make a move anytime soon unless we provoke them hard enough.''
Mei frowned, the bastard Yagura was not even trying to attack them. He was just leaving them alone. It was as if he did not care if they build their military strength. She hated the fact she was not strong enough to defeat him by herself. Yagura was a Kage-level shinobi on his own without the use of his bijuu's chakra.
Ao saw the frown on Mei's face and decided to tell her something good. ''Choujuro will be returning tomorrow, I got the word while I was with my men patrolling.''
Mei smiled at the news, ''Well that's good to know that he will return safely,'' She stated, ''What did you learn?'' Mei asked getting on to another subject.
''The woman is fairly honest and seems to be trustworthy,'' Ao said, ''She also revealed that Naruto brought her here with him after saving her from being captured by shinobi's who were chasing her. I can say that is the truth.''
Mei nodded and smiled afterwards, ''Well I'm glad I decided to accept his help,'' Mei stated.
''I figured you might do something like that,'' Ao said taking a thoughtful look on his face, ''Back in my days woman did not just allow men to enter their house without taking them through a series of test to see if they were trustworthy.''
''Ao...shut up.'' Mei said...no threatened in a rather sweet tone that made Ao pale. Normally when she spoke like that, her words ended with 'kill you'.
''Anyway, I had some of our best man spy on Naruto and Yugao-san. One can never be careful.''
Mei nodded, though she wished he did not do it. Still, it did not hurt if he did it. Mei and Ao discussed a few things before Ao went away as it had gotten late.
Three nights later
Things had been rather quiet at the rebel's camp ever since Naruto had arrived. He was getting bored with having nothing to do. He always liked to keep himself busy by doing something useful. However, here, he could not do anything.
Over the past days, all he did was converse with Mei and Yugao. He ignored everyone else as they were of no interest to him. Mei had introduced him to Choujuro a young lad who wielded the twin sword Hiramekarei. Choujuro had confidence issues; he was the same as Hinata in many ways. Both are shy, timid, low self-confidence and personality problems.
The full moon illuminated the earth as Naruto sat peacefully on top of a hill just outside of the camp. At the bottom of the hill, there were four men and a woman lying on the ground peacefully. They had been knocked out because Naruto them annoying. They had been spying on him for a while and he just got tired of letting them continue. He was still without his amour and gunbai. His blood-red eyes scanned around the hills that surrounded the camp. After the hills there was nothing, it was just a clear landscape like a field.
Naruto narrowed his eyes behind as he sensed someone. The chakra signature had become rather familiar to him. Mei climbed on top of the hill holding a small container.
Naruto noticed the dark blue, color of the cloth the woman was wearing. She was not wearing the clothes she had been wearing during day. What she was wearing was like a nightdress, Naruto could not really tell. The only thing he could tell was that it was blue, a color the woman seemed to favor.
''What happened to them?'' Mei asked referring to her shinobi lying beneath the hill they sat.
''They are just sleeping.''
''They must be the shinobi Ao sent to spy on you,'' Mei said, ''I brought you some food, I was told you did not collect your meals.'' She said handing Naruto the container she was caring. Naruto took it and placed it beside him.
''The view looks nice from here, and the gentle breeze is refreshing.'' Mei said.
''Yes, it does.'' Naruto replied.
''You know every men I have met always stare at me. They often look at me with looks of lust. However, you only looked at me once, you did not even stare while I was looking away.'' Mei said getting to what was bothering her.
''Your question being?''
''Why don't you act like other men?''
Naruto looked up to the heaves as he replied, ''That is because I have no interest in seeing what is under your dress and I do act like others because I don't think like others.''
''Perhaps it is because you are young and are innocent when it comes to woman.'' Mei said with a teasing smile.
''My age is of no consequence,'' Naruto stated, ''I am not innocent. That being said, I know everything about a women's body.''
Mei seemed interested in what Naruto had just said, ''You know everything about a woman's body?''
''Yes,'' Naruto replied with a disinterested expression.
''Are you talking about a real woman, fully developed women?'' Mei asked finding it hard to believe that Naruto has 'looked' at a women's body and has no desire to do it again.
''A real women, you mean one such as yourself?'' Mei nodded, ''Yes, I have found myself at the receiving end of what is called pleasures of a woman's body.'' Naruto replied with a blank expression.
Mei stared at Naruto with a rather large question mark on her face. How does anyone speak about the pleasures of a woman's body and still look like that?
''There must be something wrong with you.'' Mei said, ''When was that?''
''Two years ago,'' Naruto replied, ''It was part of my training. One of my goals is to restore the Uchiha clan, I cannot restore a clan if I do not know how to, thus I went to a brothel to learn how I will be able to restore a clan.'' Naruto replied calmly. It was his purpose to restore the Uchiha clan. Madara had told him everything about how children were made-sex-and he had read about it himself. However, he never actually tried it to for himself. One did not read a jutsu scroll and not practice how to use it. You had to try perfecting the required hand seals and chakra to be able to use the jutsu perfectly. With that mindset, Naruto went to a brothel to test the 'jutsu' for restoring the Uchiha clan.
Mei chuckled lightly at Naruto's revelation, ''You do know that sooner or later you are going to have to be interested in what is beneath a women's dress to be able to get someone to restore your clan with you, right?''
''I am aware of that,'' Naruto replied taking the container Mei had given him.
''You are leaving?''
''Yes, I can no longer tolerate this subject.'' Naruto responded as he began to walk down the hill.
''Are you just uncomfortable with talking about it with me?'' Mei asked with a teasing tone, not that it worked on Naruto.
''No, my current mindset is not programmed to find such subject enjoyable or interesting. What it is programmed to find interesting is what I came here to do.'' Naruto replied.
''You speak as if your mind can be programmed like a machine.'' Mei said following Naruto from behind. At the bottom of the hill, the shinobi's Naruto had knocked out where already awake and gone back into their hiding positions.
''To achieve perfect results one's mind must be treated as such.'' Naruto replied without look back at Mei. ''I cannot allow distractions to lead me astray to my goal...you are proving to be quiet a distraction."
Mei followed Naruto from behind. If he called her a distraction, he must have had some thoughts creeping inside his head.
''How am I being a distraction?'' she asked with an innocent look on her face.
''You flirt too much and are rather blunt about what you desire or your interests.'' Naruto replied. The woman was always flirting with him whenever she got the chance. Even a blind man would notice. Had it not been for his self-control, he might have already started flirting with her to.
''Well that is because I'm a woman who knows what she wants,''
Naruto raised a brow, ''Has such a tactic work for you?'' Mei shrugged, so Naruto continued. ''Oh? So you have yet to use such tactic because you have yet to find a more suitable mate.'' he said.
As soon as those words left Naruto's mouth. Mei froze, 'Mate...husband...husband...husband.' She began to think in her frozen state.
Naruto did not bother to wait for her. He continued on walking away leaving the woman standing alone.